Blind Date
by Kaito Kuroba's Mistress
Summary: It starts with a blind date—oh, sorry: "male bonding experience." It progresses with a kiss. Then comes the discovery of deceit. Feelings of betrayal. Feelings of love realized at the same time that very love is crushed. Just a normal relationship. KaiShin.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes are in bold:

**Welcome to my amazing story!**

**Kay, a couple of things:**

**I want everyone to understand that I began writing this approximately three years ago! So the beginning sucks :P Also I wrote a lot of the Author's Notes **_**while**_** I was writing, not afterward.  
**

**Story time!  
**

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Blind Date

The meeting of the twins was fate. They were running, and knocked into each other. Nakamori Aoko and Mouri Ran both went flying back in opposite directions and fell onto their butts.

_Stupid gravity_, thought one harshly. Then Aoko looked up at the person she had collided with. The girl looked almost exactly like Aoko herself, the biggest difference being that her hairstyle was different. Was she _trying _to resemble a unicorn? Oh, that was too harsh. _Don't judge someone you don't even know!_ Aoko scolded herself.

Ran was as shocked as Aoko to realize that they were almost identical. _It wouldn't actually hurt to brush her hair a bit, would it?_ She thought. _Oh, what am I doing, laying on the ground like a fool?_ Ran heaved herself to a stand, brushing her skirt off; she noticed the other girl do the same.

They both turned their heads to look at each other. "I'm sorry!" both said at the same time. Pause. Blink. How awkward.

"I'm Mouri Ran," Ran introduced herself, to ease the awkward.

Aoko smiled tentatively. "Nakamori Aoko."

"Nakamori? Like the police inspector?" Ran asked, mildly surprised. Aoko didn't look like him at all…and she didn't seem to have his extreme anger issues either.

"Yes! He's my dad." Aoko started ranting about how he _would _catch that Kaitou Kid…eventually. But Ran had a hard time listening because she had just remembered that she was searching for something, or, more appropriately, some_one._

"Uhh, Nakamori-san? I'm sorry, but I'm kind of looking for someone, so…"

"Oh, right. Dammit, Kaito! I'll find you!" Aoko started glaring at the surrounding area of the park they were in, contemplating where to explore next. Ran made a mental note that maybe this Aoko really did inherit her father's angry demeanor, and Aoko looked at Ran again. "I'm looking for my friend, he ran off somewhere to hide when he saw…something he's foolishly afraid of."

Ran wondered what that person was afraid of, idly, but was also thinking about the similarities. "My friend ran off, too. He's about this tall-" she raised her hand slightly over her head for emphasis "-with brown hair and blue eyes…"

"Okay, I'll look out for him. My friend looks about the same as you described, and he probably is so scared he's paralyzed. Oh, and his magic is usually harmless, so don't worry! I do have a feeling he's avoiding me on purpose, so you're more likely to see him first!"

The two girls went their separate ways, keeping in mind that they were looking for two teen boys with similar features.

Aoko was lucky first. She walked toward a small circular area with a bench, surrounded by trees. On the bench sat a teenager, calmly reading a thick book which had a spooky-looking cover. Why would Kaito be here reading? And he didn't look at all scared.

As Aoko walked closer, she noticed that Kaito's clothes were different and that he wasn't moving or looking up when she came closer. "Kaito?" she called. He didn't even flinch!

Aoko finally stopped directly in front of the teen, and he looked up from his book boredly. Then a flicker of, what was it, surprise, flashed across his face, before being replaced by slight curiosity. "Can I help you?" He certainly sounded like Kaito, but Kaito wasn't such a good actor, right? And now that Aoko was close up, she could see that his eyes were lighter and his hair was slightly less messy.

"Uh…" she stuttered, and then something clicked in her mind. "OH! Do you know a Mouri Ran-san?"

"Yes…"

"She's looking for you."

The teen sighed and snapped his book shut—no bookmark, no glance at the page number, or anything. Then he stood up and put his hand out. "I'm Kudou Shinichi."

Kudou Shinichi…That name was familiar. Kaito had said _something _about him once. What was it? _Meitantei_, Aoko heard Kaito's voice say in her head. _He's gotten as close to outwitting Kid as Hakuba has! _"Are you…a detective?" Aoko asked, just to be sure, while shaking Shinichi's hand. When Shinichi nodded, Aoko slightly frowned, and then her smile returned. "I'm Nakamori Aoko."

"Ahh. Your dad is the head of the Kid task force, haha…" His laugh was such an obvious fake, he definitely wasn't trying. "He hates me. He thinks I'm just a lucky kid."

"Well, you have gotten closer to catching Kid than he has. I know it's humiliating for him. But don't take it personally; he doesn't like many people anyway."

"Right. Well, I'm sorry that Ran asked someone to help her look for me." Shinichi rolled his eyes. "This book I've been wanting was just released, and Ran wanted to hang out. I couldn't be away from this thing for too long." He smiled and patted his book almost lovingly. Wow. He needed some major re-assortment of his priorities and, perhaps, his life.

"So, where did Ran go?" Shinichi asked.

"The other way, looking for you." Aoko pointed toward the trees in the direction opposite of the way she had come.

"Okay then," Shinichi replied, turning to leave.

"Wait…" Aoko called. "Have you seen a boy who looks exactly like you, only with a different hairstyle?"

Shinichi paused for a short moment, thinking, scrunching his eyebrows together, and then shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

Aoko sighed. "Well, I've been looking for him, and that's when I met Mouri-san. Since we were both searching anyway, we decided to do it together-ish."

"Well, let's meet up with Ran and then we can help you look for your friend…Kaito-san, was it? Isn't that who you were calling out to before you saw me?"

"Oh." Aoko's face turned pink from embarrassment. "Well, no, I thought you _were _him for a moment."

Shinichi laughed and allowed Aoko to lead him toward where Ran had gone.

Meanwhile, said teen girl was hunting near the park's fountain, which was spraying out water that feathered out in a fine mist around the base. Would Shinichi be near here? Would Aoko's friend?

"Shinichi?" Ran called. There weren't many people; it wasn't likely that he'd gotten lost, really. She was simply miffed that he had run off without her. While she was looking toward her right, she stumbled over a pebble that was not-so-tiny. "Eek!" She flailed her arms to keep balanced and steadied herself on the fountain's edge. She sighed and sat down.

"Are you okay, Oujo-san?" A voice asked, humor evident in it.

"Shinichi!" Ran said, looking up at the person standing before her. But it wasn't really Shinichi: this boy looked very much like him (so alike it was a bit eerie) but he had slight differences in his appearance. "O-Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else…"

"I thought the same about you for a moment, too," the guy replied, snickering. "Are you related to Nakamori Aoko?"

Ran stood up triumphantly. "AHA! It's you, you're Nakamori-san's friend! We've been looking for you."

"Ahhh. Have you?" Kaito backed slightly away from her. "Anyway, I'm Kuroba Kaito." He pulled out a red rose from the mysterious depths of…his sleeve. (Shh, don't tell!) Ran was flattered and amazed. She took the rose, blushing.

"So…" Ran started, but her cell phone chose that moment to ring. "Oh, excuse me." She took it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. She didn't recognize the number, but it could be something important…

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"_Mouri-san? It's Aoko!"_

"Hey. How did you get my phone number?"

"_I got it from your boyfriend. He-"_

Ran blushed deeply and yelled, "He is _not _my boyfriend!" She earned another chuckle from Kaito. He was a bit too cheerful.

"_Haha. Okay, okay. Well there was some kind of case, he said, and he was about to run off but I asked if he had your number. So he gave it to me and then he left."_

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry for the trouble. Oh, but I found your friend!" she added, glancing at the magician, who was now juggling balls that would every once in a while burst out pink smoke.

Aoko sighed, and Ran heard through the phone light thumps, like footsteps. Perhaps she was walking toward them. _"I'm sorry for whatever crazy thing he does or says. Anyway, where are you?"_

"We're at the fountain."

"_Okay! See ya there; program my number into your phone and I'll do the same. Bye!" _The line went dead and Ran programmed the most recent call, Aoko, into her phone.

"Well, Nakamori-san will be here in a minute to get you, Kuroba-san," she said to Kaito. He looked up, surprised, and his balls disappeared.

"You can call me Kaito, Miss…?" He smiled and it occurred to Ran that she hadn't had the chance to tell him her name.

"Mouri Ran." Kaito nodded and they stood in silence for a few moments.

"Mouri-san!" a voice called. Ran looked up and saw Aoko waving and walking toward them, smiling. When she was a few feet away, she glared at Kaito and went into a rant about his runaway. "Honestly, Kaito! You need to get over your fear! They're not that-"

"Sorry, Aoko. Honestly, I was just having a little fun." Kaito smiled through the whole thing.

Aoko turned to Ran. "It seems that you have to live with a totally different sort of torture."

Ran blinked in confusion. What was she talking about? "Um…what?"

Aoko laughed. "Your Kudou-kun was hiding from you so he could read a book. I'd say he's as bad as Kaito, only in a different way."

Ran blushed. "Oh, it's not that bad, usually!"

Aoko pursed her lips, and then she got a strange expression on her face. She smiled thoughtfully and stepped closer to Ran, leaning in, and started whispering…

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**More a/n:**

**Thanks for reading :) Be prepared for the next chapter and yes they get better.**

**Sorry if it was a bit boring, but it was an intro. Soon there will be a ton of KaiShinniness (new word!) and whatnot!**

**This has been the first chaptery story I've written in a long time, haha. Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**At first, I put them at Tropical Land. But I thought about it, and I decided that some things could be better where I decided for them to go. Soooo I called my trusty-dusty Zachary-bo! (My fake Papa!) and asked him, "On a first date, where would you rather go…?" Haha he sounded kinda weirded out, considering. He prolly thought I was planning to ask him. Pshhhyeahh. Right. Don't flatter yourself.**

**ANYWAY. He was the deciding man. If a guy would rather go there, two guys would like it, right? Even though it's not a date per se haha.**

**Ohh yeah, and I went on good ol' Google and looked up 'restaurant name generator' and found one. It came up with, eventually, the Super Pepper, which made me laugh. Sooo yeeyahh.**

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Shinichi sighed. How did he get talked into this? Here he was, outside of a restaurant called "Super Pepper", in a casual outfit that Ran had picked out, waiting for some guy he didn't know at all. This guy, apparently, looked just like Shinichi, and his name was Kaito; that's all Ran had told him. But her intimidatingly threatening countenance and her twitching fist had kept him from asking any questions.

"Shinichi-kun?"

Shinichi looked up, almost certain for a moment that he was looking into a mirror. He blinked and realized that it was another person, looking at him expectantly. "Err…yeah. So you're Kaito…kun?" He tacked on the _kun _uncertainly, not sure if that was okay with the other teen.

Kaito beamed. "Yep. So, Aoko and your friend, Mouri-san, seem to think that we should bond, apparently."

"Ah. Is that what this is? Some sort of male bonding experience? Ran didn't tell me the details. What are you interested in?" Shinichi was kind of nervous, and he thought to himself that it was because he didn't know this strange guy.

"Hmm…magic!" To make his point, Kaito pulled out a white rose for Shinichi; he also snapped and a few doves flew out amidst some pink smoke. Shinichi didn't look as impressed a Kaito had hoped he would be, he just raised an eyebrow with a glance at the rose, as if saying, "You expect me to take that?" He looked back up at Kaito and was a little bit surprised to see a pout.

Shinichi sighed and accepted the rose. "Sorry, but I don't have anything to give you in return."

Kaito grinned goofily. "Don't worry, you're paying for my food!"

Twitch. _Male bonding_, _my ass._

"So, shall we go in, Shinichi-kun?" asked Kaito, smiling and, without waiting for an answer, skipped forward and was swallowed by the huge wooden front door of the restaurant.

Shinichi had to think, _What the hell did Ran get me into?_ But he followed his cheerful doppelganger into the restaurant.

The Super Pepper was a casual, good-sized restaurant which smelled always—as Shinichi realized on a later date—of root beer. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Root beer. This restaurant had, like many others, some tables in the middle of a huge room, and off to the sides rested booths with red backs and fake glass tables which were very entertaining when you were bored and alone and wanted to see your own hand pressed up against something translucent. So far, though, Shinichi only knew the basics; such as what it looked like and the fact that it wasn't very crowded.

"Shinichi-kun! Come on, over here!" called Kaito from a small booth in a corner of the establishment. Shinichi's face heated up in embarrassment; the few people there were looking up from their plates, stopping their conversations, and turning to stare at the two identical boys. Shinichi walked briskly to the booth and slid in across from Kaito.

"God. Shut up! Do you have to be so loud?" he snapped, watching Kaito's smile fade into something that looked like a badly disguised pout. What was he, an eight-year-old? Why did he have to be so emotionally unstable? "H-hey…Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you…" Shinichi didn't know exactly what to say to the sulking magician. "Here." He really didn't know what he was doing anymore; his hands moved of their own accord. He wouldn't allow this under normal circumstances…He was holding out the book he had been hiding just in case, offering it to Kaito.

But the other teen just looked at it. Then he looked up at Shinichi, still in pout mode, "What? I don't really like to read that much; I don't want your book." How had the two girls thought that Kaito would be a good friend for Shinichi? Really? He didn't even like books.

"I'm not giving it to you. If I insult you again during this dinner, you can…you can…" His breath became a little bit unsteady. "…_burn it._"

Kaito's face brightened infinitesimally. Or maybe Shinichi imagined it. Whatever the case, Kaito slowly reached out and clasped the mystery novel. Shinichi was sorry to see it go, and when he let go thoroughly he was contemplating pouncing on Kaito just to get it back. No, he would just be a _good _boy.

Soon, the waitress came and took their orders. It annoyed Shinichi to the end of the earth when Kaito started flirting with the girl, whose name was Mio, they found out. Kaito gave her a rose—yellow, he noted with mild interest—when she was walking off to fulfill their orders.

"Are you shameless?" Shinichi asked, shaking his head disapprovingly when they were again alone.

Kaito chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard that before."

Waiting for their food and nibbling on bread rolls that were a little bit softer than was normal, the two conversed about many different topics, from Kaitou Kid to the economy to music to different types of people. When their entrées came, they ate and talked between mouthfuls of either cheeseburger and chicken alfredo. Shinichi sat back, content, when he finished his last noodle. Kaito, however, grinned for the last time that night at the waitress and asked her for a slice of "triple chocolate cream fudge cake with double chocolate frosting and chocolate shavings on top." And to that, Shinichi almost vomited.

By the time his death-inducing cake came to him, Kaito wouldn't rip his gaze away from Shinichi for anything. He felt around for his fork and dug it into the cake, all the while watching as Shinichi looked away from him and surveyed the room with observant bright blue eyes. Shinichi was becoming somewhat more fascinating, and at the same time a little bit less of a mystery, with every second that ticked away. Kaito knew him from heists, but he didn't know him like this. Like a friend.

Kaito looked down at his cake, finally away from Shinichi, and beheaded it with his fork. He smiled and leaned over the table, holding out his arm and offering Shinichi the cake on his fork.

"Are you crazy?" Shinichi asked. "That is way too unhealthy!" But Kaito kept shoving, closer and closer…

Shinichi swears forever that he did _not _blush. He simply opened his mouth and, with it, grabbed the small piece of cake. It was chocolatey, too sweet. That was the first thing that he tasted. Then, after a few seconds of contemplation, he realized that it was good. Damn good, actually. Not that he'd ever admit that to the bouncy, unhealthy magician.

He made a show of smacking his mouth and swigging his coffee to wash the cake down. "Sorry, Kaito-kun, but sweet stuff like that is not for me." He smiled slightly though, showing that he wasn't angry with the other boy.

"Well," he said, stretching, as the two walked down the road, at the end of which Kaito would turn one way and Shinichi the other. "That was almost fun."

"Haha! Yeah it was! Let's do it again, Shinichi-kun!" Kaito said, dancing ahead in the road, the dusk light glinting off of his hair and dimly illuminating his face. _He is _entirely_ too energetic, _Shinichi thought as he watched.

"Okay, let's exchange phone numbers." Kaito and Shinichi held up their phones, simultaneously, and clicked pictures of each other taking pictures of each other, there in the middle of the road. They both set that picture to the contact, and recited their numbers. At the end of the long road, they said their farewells.

Shinichi hurried home, thinking about the creeps that might attempt to knock him out in order to steal his money. Which reminded him that Kaito had, in fact, allowed (more like forced) Shinichi to pay for the whole meal—including cake, which was a five dollar piece! But, the food was pretty good.

_Ring…Ring…_Shinichi flipped open his phone without checking to see who it was first, and answered into it, "Hello?"

"_Shinichi-kun_!" Kaito's voice all but shouted across the distance. Shinichi sighed and turned the volume down on his phone; he knew he'd be sorry later if he didn't now.

"Kaito-kun, we _just _separated! What do you want?" The annoyance was prominent in Shinichi's voice, only because he knew already that, at times, Kaito could be clingy.

"_Tsk tsk tsk! Shinichi-kun, I'd think before I speak if I were you. I still have your book, remember? …Which is honestly why I decided to call you!"_

"Ah! I completely forgot about it. Augh, what will I do without it…" Shinichi sighed and face palmed.

"…" Over the phone, the magician stayed silent.

"Kaito-kun?" Shinichi asked after a few moments.

"Yes?"

The voice came from directly behind him, breath billowing out to meet his neck, which was why Shinichi jumped three feet into the air with a squeal. He calmed himself and breathed evenly—not without effort. His heart was pounding and his face was hot.

Shinichi turned around and glared at Kaito, trying to regain some of his dignity. "What'd you do that for!"

"I'll walk with you!" Kaito said cheerfully, ignoring the question, and started walking.

"Why did you sneak up on me?" Shinichi asked.

"It was fun, now come on!"

Shinichi hurried to catch up with the other boy and they walked with only the sound of footsteps, until Shinichi stopped. "Uh…Kaito-kun, this is my house, soo…" Shinichi felt slightly stupid saying this, especially when he pointed pointlessly at the dark house with the nameplate _Kudou._

"Oooh! Well then, you wouldn't make me walk all the way back to the train station now, would you? In the _dark?_" Kaito's grin was the only flash of light Shinichi could see, besides the outline of the boy. When Shinichi didn't answer, Kaito added, "Someone might try to take advantage of a vulnerable cutie like me."

Shinichi sighed and walked through the iron gates and into his house. "C'mon, or I'll leave you."

Kaito hopped inside behind Shinichi. "Thanks for letting me stay over!" he called.

"Yeah, yeah. There_ is_ enough room, anyway. So I'll show you where you can sleep." Shinichi beckoned for Kaito to follow him up the stairs and into a big room. There was a bed against the far wall, a dresser on the other side, and a lamp, but other than that it looked pretty empty; obviously not somewhere anyone spent time. Kaito walked in, saying, "Oooh, nice." He glanced toward the wall beside the door that he had come into and shrieked, followed by a yell of, "I'M NOT STAYING IN HERE!"

"What, Kaito-kun? What are you yelling at?" Shinichi stepped inside, looking around wildly for an assassin, a bear, a ghost…but all he saw was the framed picture that his father had put there years before. It was a school of fish swimming through the ocean, and his father had gotten it from one of his friends. He _hated _it, but to be polite he kept it and put it in this otherwise barren guest room.

Kaito, meanwhile, was huddled in a corner, pressing up against the wall hard, as if trying to mold himself into it. His eyes were shut tightly.

"Kaito-kun?" Shinichi asked, kneeling beside him. "It's just a picture."

Kaito shivered and replied in a raspy voice, "It's a picture of _hatred._" Just the way he said it made Shinichi want to laugh, but he first wanted to get to the bottom of this case.

"Fish, Kaito-kun. What's-"

Kaito interrupted him with a tremble and a screamed, "Shinichi-kun you are the most insensitive person I've ever met!" He stood and ran out of the room and turned left. Shinichi sighed and didn't bother going to look for him, not knowing where he would have gone in this colossal house. All Shinichi knew was that Kaito was worse than a girl.

"You're already upsetting him that much?"

Shinichi glanced up and spotted Ran in the doorway where Kaito had disappeared. She looked curious.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, you didn't call me or anything after your d-d- uh, outing with Kaito-kun." Shinichi was very suspicious of the way she had stuttered and of her cheeks growing pink. He had the acute suspicion that she had been about to say _date,_ and he was glad she didn't.

"There is something seriously wrong with that guy," Shinichi said, his voice low. "He walked into the room and then went berserk!"

Ran blinked. "Oh, maybe he was afraid!"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the girl's lack of explanation. "Of…?"

"I don't know. But when I met Nakamori-san, she had said that Kaito-kun was afraid of something they saw in the park." Ran entered the room. "But could he have seen the same thing here?"

Shinichi's eyes were again drawn to the picture on the wall. "Hey, Ran, are there fish at the park?"

"Fish?" she asked, confusion lacing her tone. "Well, yeah, there's a little pond with fish in it."

Shinichi looked at her and said, "Fish…" He pondered it and started chuckling. It turned into a full-fledged laugh, and then, finally, hysteria.

Ran was surprised, to say the least. She looked at him, up against the wall with his mouth open in a loud, out of breath laugh and his arms clutching his sides, as if to hold them together. Ran's eyes were wide, and then she smiled and giggled slightly at Shinichi. Kaito _already_ was good for him. She made a mental note to tell Aoko.

"Shinichi-kun?" a tentative whisper asked from outside the room. Shinichi took a few moments to quell his emotions, but he ultimately ceased his laughing.

"Kaito-kun?" Shinichi asked patiently, not moving from his position.

"What's so funny in there?"

Shinichi chuckled and peered around the doorway at Kaito, who was crouching on the ground. "Are you afraid of fish, Kaito-kun?"

Kaito swallowed visibly and nodded slightly. "They're horrible little devilish creatures." Shinichi smiled again.

"Okay, don't worry then. I'll take you to a room that's completely fish-free." Shinichi reached his hand out to help Kaito back onto his feet, and Kaito squeezed it, not letting go even when he was able to walk; scared. Like a kid. Oh, the torture Shinichi could inflict upon this boy. They walked down the hall, with Ran forgotten behind them, watching.

Shinichi poked his head through a door and then looked back at Kaito. "Alright, it's clear!" Kaito looked hesitant, but stepped inside nonetheless.

"Thanks, Shinichi-kun!" he said, smiling widely again. How the _hell_ did he do that?

"Shinichi!" Ran called. "I need to go home and make Otou-san dinner!"

"Oh. Okay!" Shinichi went to see her out. "Be careful walking out there; when you're scared you don't think enough to use your karate moves." Maybe he shouldn't have said that, for said karate champ was glaring at him. But she relaxed and made her way out.

Shinichi glanced at the clock. It was 8:24 PM. Okay, so what did guys do during sleepovers? He'd never had a real one, truthfully. _Well, _he thought. _A movie could be appropriate, right?_

Kaito was suddenly in front of him, coming out of a puff of pink smoke. "So, Shinichi-kun, what are we going to do?"

Shinichi waved his hand like a fan, coughing, at the smoke. "Uh, do you want to watch a movie?"

"Oh! Sure!" Kaito smiled and walked straight to the tv room. Shinichi didn't really want to think about how he knew where it was. By the time he got in there, however, Kaito was already huddled up on the couch, engrossed in the previews as if they were the actual movie. "I don't want anything to eat or drink, don't be all polite and I know you were about to ask don't deny it just sit your ass down and if I want anything I'll ask you." That was said in sort of a rush, just one long run-on sentence which Shinichi didn't approve of.

They watched the movie, a pretty good mystery-horror, commenting on it occasionally. When it was over, Kaito stretched, yawned, and cuddled with the blanket that he had halfway through produced with a snap.

"Kaito-kun," Shinichi groaned. "Don't fall asleep on the couch, please. I really don't want to carry you back upstairs…"

Kaito mumbled tiredly, "Ya don' have tah carry me, I'll stay here."

"It'll be uncomfortable," Shinichi warned.

"Mmm…" Kaito was drifting off. Dammit. For some reason, Shinichi was really against the magician sleeping on the couch. He stood there for another moment, and then swirled and stalked off.

"Whatever! Don't you dare complain to me when your back hurts in the morning, idiot." Shinichi slammed his door.

Kaito then proceeded to walk sleepily back to his guest room, dragging his blanket behind him.

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**Yayy, chapter two!**

***hides in embarrassment from really old writing that's not very good***

**Anyway you peeps should review D:**

**I'm so sad cause I got all these notifications about followers and whatnot but hardly any reviews :'(**

**Also thanks for reading! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Haha, guess I was just in a playful mood while writing this. It was fun! :D Oh, yes, I meant to do that with all the "empty"s. It was supposed to be like...suspenseful and emphasized.**

**By the way, I wrote this chapter before I saw the magic file "Osaka Okinomiyaki Odyssey", so I didn't take the restaurant idea from that. Hehehe.**

* * *

Shinichi opened his eyes to the slight light of about 6:30 AM. _Curse that damn insomnia of mine! _he thought. No matter how late he went to sleep, he always woke up too early. He groggily staggered downstairs and, eyes half open, went through his usual motions: in the kitchen, he got a coffee mug, walked toward the coffee maker which he had programmed to automatically turn on, poured some into the mug followed by no cream because Shinichi is just that hardcore. He sat at the kitchen table, ready to savour the waking up taste of caffeine. He brought the cup to his mouth and...nothing came out. He reluctantly opened his eyes fully and peered into the

_**empty**_

coffee cup. Apocalypse, much?

In a panic, Shinichi whirled around to look at the

_**empty**_

coffee maker. Why wasn't there any coffee in it? WHY?

"Oh, Shinichi-kun! I see you've noticed the lack of coffee this morning, eh?"

Shinichi twitched. _Oh yeah...In my stupor I'd forgotten he was here. _"Wait...you're responsible for my torture?"

"Not torture, Shinichi-kun! I'm trying to help you...plus, coffee tastes and smells gross, not to mention the annoying growling sound it makes when being produced..."

"Torture!" Shinichi insisted. He frantically opened his

_**empty**_

coffee cabinet.

"Shinichi-kun, wouldn't it be nice to have tea instead? It tastes better, it's more healthy, and there's caffeine in it!"

"Not the decaffeinated kind," Shinichi muttered.

"Well, obviously, silly!"

"Why are you so chipper? And when did you wake up?"

"I, sir, am chipper because I've already had my fix of tea for the morning. Oh, and I woke up around five."

_Someone more insanely insomnia-ridden than I!_ "Listen, kid." Kaito twitched slightly for an unknown reason. "I like you so far; you're weird, but you're fun to be around. Don't ruin it. Give me my coffee, and it'll be okay." When Kaito didn't move, Shinichi turned his death glare on him. "NOW."

Kaito immediately snapped his scared little fingers and, in a puff of smoke, coffee was brewing in the pot and the coffee cabinet was full. Kaito quickly poured some coffee into Shinichi's mug and tried to pour it into the irritated, caffeine-free boy's mouth. "Don't."

"Just trying to help, sorry!" Kaito smiled when Shinichi contentedly sighed after sipping just a bit of coffee. "I'm really sorry, Shinichi-kun!"

"Ahh, it's fine, Kaito-kun. Just don't ever do that again. Don't even try to talk to me before I have my coffee."

Kaito obediently nodded. "Oh, and also..." Shinichi started, and Kaito's heart began to beat fast at the tone with which he spoke. Would he shoot him another burning glare? "You make _really _good coffee. What's your secret?"

Kaito relaxed and smiled brighter. Wrapping his arm around Shinichi, he stated simply, "I add love into the pot!" Shinichi frowned. He wasn't kidding. That was some damn good coffee.

-D:

"So, Kaito-kun," Shinichi said later that day. "I guess it's time for you to be going."

Kaito nodded reluctantly and waved "good-bye" to Shinichi, walking out the way a little kid would walk out of a particularly exciting birthday party home to his boring parents. Shinichi smiled fondly and decided to spend some calm time outside. Lord knows he needed it after that hyper little bundle known as Kaito. It was afternoon in the springtime, and the backyard of the Kudou mansion shone with growth. Pink azaleas were blooming beautifully close by, and the sensual smells of roses and lilies wafted toward Shinichi through the wind. The sun's warm rays hit him at the perfect temperature, and Shinichi closed his eyes to take in the soothing atmosphere...

"Kudou!" an elongated yell sounded from the house's backdoor. _Well, that relaxing moment was just ruined._ Shinichi wanted to stay in place and ignore the call, but instead he reluctantly turned to face Heiji Hattori. "Hey, Kudou. Whatcha doin' out here?" When Shinichi just gave him a blank stare, Heiji continued. "Umm, well...anyway, you know that Kaitou Kid guy? He's sent another note to the police this mornin'! I thought if you'd known you'd've been all over the news explainin' his tricks already or somethin! So I came by to see if you were okay."

Shinichi sighed. He had really wanted just a moment to relax, but straight away after Kaito left, here came Heiji Hattori, hot-headed blabbermouth of the century. Now, of course, he was curious and so he would spend his next few days thinking always about Kaitou Kid. "Alright, Hattori. What does the note say?"

Heiji was talking as soon as Shinichi finished asking. Entirely too eager. "It's the weirdest thing, see, because he usually writes some sorta poem or riddle, but this time..."

In front of him sat the note, zipped securely into a bag (evidence, of course), directly addressed to Heiji Hattori. Why, then, was it sent to the police? _Tantei-han, _it read. _No games this time. Saturday night at the rooftop of the Okonomiyaki Haven in Tokyo I'm going to steal something you've always wanted. Be ready for me._

"Holy crap, Hattori!" Shinichi exclaimed. "What did you do to the man?"

"Nothin'!" Hattori insisted defensively. "I dun even know what the thing is he wants. Can't think of anything I've always wanted that he would take."

Shinichi racked his brain, but nothing came to mind. Such a strange letter. Kid seemed too serious, and too direct, but at the same time still vague. He'd almost suspect forgery, but the signature doodle at the bottom of the note was definitely Kid's. Why the okonomiyaki shop? What did Hattori want so much? Food? So many questions...

-:D

Later, Shinichi found himself walking down the street in deep thought; he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings so he bumped into somebody. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention..."

"Shinichi-kun!" Kaito exclaimed brightly. "Did you hear? Kaitou Kid's sent a heist note! Exciting, isn't it?"

Shinichi remembered that Kaito was a fan of the thief. Probably for no other reason than the fact that he was an awesome magician. "Oh, you've heard? I've been thinking about it since I saw the note, but I can't figure out what it is he wants to steal..."

Kaito grinned, and for a split second Shinichi thought that it was too knowing, but after a moment he shrugged that off. "Well, you'll have to figure it out then."

* * *

**Yaaaaaay!**

**Poor Shinichi :( He usually knows everything...it feels good to make him not know things for once haha**

**Thanks for reading! Reviewwwww! ****It really means a lot to me when people do :D**

**pleeeeease**

**I LOVE YOU**

**FFnet hates me and when I try to edit certain things it doesn't save them and so I had to go into the html and do it but it still only did half of what I wanted. Ugh. .**


	4. Chapter 4

**I guess it's weird that I added coffee stuff two chapters in a row xD don't worry...it won't be like that for the entire story.**

**Also sorry I kind of forgot to add a chapter last week *shoots self***

**Have fun reading!**

* * *

No matter how much Shinichi thought about it, he just couldn't figure it out. It was the most frustrating thing. How could he figure out the much more complicated riddles that the thief had sent, and yet not this simple one? The answer could be staring him right in the face, and he just didn't know what it was! How infuriating!

"Shinichi-kun!" Kaito called. Shinichi turned to see the much-too-hyper magician waving and hopping over to him. "Are you here to try to capture Kid?" Shinichi noticed how he said "try". Kaito didn't seem to think Shinichi'd be able to do it.

"I'm gonna get the damn thief. Don't support him so much! He's a _criminal, _Kaito-kun."

Kaito stared at Shinichi for a moment, still with his normal smile. To anyone watching, his next words would've been undoubtedly happy ones. However, Shinichi heard what he said, and his quiet (for once) voice was anything but happy. "You say that like criminals aren't people, Shinichi-kun. Like they all deserve to just…die."

Shinichi blinked. "Hey, man. I didn't mean that. Just that he…I mean, he…well…" Shinichi knew exactly what his views were on this subject. They were pretty firm. The way Kaito was acting, however, threw him off, and he stuttered for a few moments more.

Kaito suddenly slapped Shinichi on the back of the head. "You big silly!" he said giddily. "I'm just joking, don't take me so seriously." And with that, he bounced away, out of sight.

Shinichi sighed, and heard his name being called behind him. "Oh, hey Hattori," he replied as the Osakan detective strolled over to him, blabbering.

"So, Kudou. Ya figure out what that note meant yet? I mean, he's gonna be here soon. If ya haven't understood it yet…"

Shinichi felt his eye twitch. Why was it _his _responsibility to decipher the heist note? Wasn't Heiji a detective as well? And furthermore, it was Heiji's fault that Kid was doing this anyway! For some reason, Shinichi could never bring himself to yell at the Osakan detective, so instead of saying all of the remarks that prodded at his thoughts, he said, "No, Hattori. I couldn't tell what he meant. All I know is, we have to stop him this time." For a moment, Kaito's face flashed into his mind, but he shook it away.

A few minutes later, Shinichi and Heiji could be found on the rooftop of Okonomiyaki Haven, waiting for a phantom thief to appear.

A shout of "Heiji!" from their left made the two teens turn toward the source. Heiji groaned upon seeing her.

"Kazuha, you idiot! Get outta here!" he commanded to his childhood friend.

Kazuha sighed. "Heiji, I'm not lettin' ya do this alone. Whatever this guy's stealin', I'll help ya keep him from it. By the way, have you figured it out yet, Kudou-kun?"

Another one who expected him to automatically know. God. "No, I haven't," Shinichi said, perhaps allowing a bit too much agitation into his voice.

"Tantei-kun, Tantei-han…M'lady." The three whirled toward the thief, standing atop the building, eating a serving of okonomiyaki, looking as calm as ever. "What a beautiful night! See how the moon shines down upon us? See how the stars twinkle for us? See how…" he licked his fingers clean of his food. "…right before your eyes, I steal your greatest desire?" Before any of the protagonists could move an inch, Kid had set off a smoke bomb and had picked up, handcuffed, and politely gagged Kazuha. She now struggled in his arms, squirming and kicking. "Tsk, tsk, M'lady. Violence isn't very ladylike. I'll have to teach you a lesson." With a snap, Kazuha was bound tighter and the kaitou was in the air. "Farewell, Tantei-han! Thank you for your precious item!"

"KID!" Shinichi and Heiji screamed. Shinichi attempted a super-kick with his soccer ball, but Kid swerved, anticipating the attack. Heiji yelled after him for another few minutes, even after it was clear that they were out of sight and not coming back.

"Kudou! What the hell am I supposed to do now?! How can I…" Shinichi stopped listening to his friend's incessant worries. He was more concerned with Kid than Kazuha, really. He had never kidnapped anyone before. Although the answer 'Kazuha' explained the thing Heiji wanted most, how could Heiji have unknowingly done something to upset Kid so bad as to make him resort to kidnapping? None of the jumbled mess made sense in Shinichi's mind. He had to think somewhere quieter, where an angry teenage boy wasn't yelling "KAZUHA!" every ten seconds.

Shinichi stayed up all night, sitting in the Kudou mansion's library, writing down possibilities, compiling data, writing lists. It really didn't make sense, and he had no clue where Kid might have taken the girl. When Shinichi had had enough of staring at papers all night and getting absolutely nowhere, he got up, stretched, and headed to the kitchen for some well-deserved coffee. Reaching into the cabinet in which he kept his coffee beans and grinder, he instead found a bound and gagged sleeping girl.

He hurriedly untied and ungagged Kazuha's restraints. He shook her body, calling her name a few times, but to no avail. Of course the thief had put her under the power of sleeping gas. He filled a glass with water and with a quickly muttered "sorry", he splashed it onto her face. She suddenly sat up and made a sound resembling a groan mixed with a squeal. She sputtered for a moment in sleepy surprise, and then rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Kudou-kun?" she questioned.

"Sorry. I had to do that. I suppose that Kid gassed you and then sneaked in here and deposited you in my cupboard. Where did he take you?"

"Ugh…" Kazuha dragged the word out while she stood up, shaking water out of her hair. "Well, all I know is he took me to another rooftop and…Oh yeah! …AND THAT BASTARD STOLE MY NECKLACE!"

"What? What necklace was that?" Shinichi asked, now fully awake and interested in hearing about this.

"It was the one my mother had given me…" Kazuha sniffled. "It was really expensive…gold chain with a really big ruby."

After a few moments of silence, when two million things clicked almost simultaneously in Shinichi's mind, he said, "Kazuha. Check your pockets."

Kazuha eagerly did so, pulling out a folded piece of paper. "Ah, it's not in there, but this is…" she handed him the mysterious paper. "I didn't put that in there."

"No, no. I didn't expect your necklace to be in there. This note, however…" He unfolded it.

_Tantei-kun,_ it read. _Here's your friend's lady back! I can hardly believe you didn't realize what I meant sooner. I wanted the necklace, but your friend offended me pretty badly, so instead of planning out a heist as usual, I decided to play with him a bit. I do enjoy getting revenge. Remember that, Tantei-kun._

_ Only and always yours, Kaitou Kid. _(And here there was a doodle.)

"Something's…different," Shinichi mumbled to himself, unaware that Kazuha was listening. "He referred to Hattori as my "friend", firstly. Not "tantei-han", as usual. And then…" he scanned the note again. "Oh, that makes sense. Hattori did something to piss him off, so he got revenge. But where's the necklace? This gives no leads. And lastly…why on earth did he sign it "only and always yours"?! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Kudou-kun…" Kazuha said, snickering. "It seems like Kid has a crush on you."

"What?!" Shinichi asked, blanching. "No, no, no. That's not even funny."

"Like Heiji, you're a skilled detective, but you really suck at solving riddles of the heart. He called Heiji your friend because he doesn't matter to Kid nearly as much as you do. That wouldn't be as obvious if it weren't for the "only and always yours", but still recognizable. He's only and always yours because he _likes _you, Kudou-kun. See?"

"Uhh…" Shinichi's face reddened. "Doubt it. Augh, I need some coffee. Wonder where that idiot hid my coffee."

"Me? I didn't hide it this time, Shinichi-kun!"

Shinichi jumped about a foot into the air and turned around. "Kaito-kun! Why are you here?"

"Not to ruin your coffee," was the only given reply.

"Actually, I meant Kaitou Kid."

Kaito gasped. "REALLY?! Kaitou Kid was here?! Why didn't you tell me?! You should've called me, Shinichi-kun. You know I admire him. I'd love to meet him someday. Man, if only you'd stalled him long enough to call me and for me to get over here…"

"I didn't know he was here!" Shinichi yelled.

"Jeez, you're crabby without your caffeine fix. By the way, I thought you said your coffee was gone. Then where did the coffee in the pot come from?"

Shinichi looked at the coffee maker and, lo and behold, Kaito told the truth! There was a pot of freshly-brewed coffee. He didn't care how it had gotten there or where the rest of it was._ Right now, all I want is some damn coffee! _He rushed to the coffee maker, swiftly took a mug and poured the coffee into it.

After taking a swig, he slapped the mug onto the kitchen counter and screamed, "AHHH! Kid, you idiot!" to the heavens.

"Um, Kudou-kun…?" Kazuha asked worriedly.

"Decaf," Shinichi spat out, as if it was a deadly substance meant to torture the drinker until they finally can't live anymore and die. …Well, that's pretty much what it is to Shinichi.

"That damn thief gave me decaffeinated coffee," Shinichi muttered to himself many times that day, randomly, in the middle of other conversations or when all was quiet, each time earning a chuckle from Kaito.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter kind of sucks?**

**I swear it gets better haha**

**Hang in there lovelies!**

**Please review annnnd I hope you enjoyed it :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**By the way, I may update regularly, but when I was writing this it was extremely erotic…err, erratic. Haha. My left hand is sprained while I type this :( Sucks since I'm left-handed :P**

**The author's note at the end is kind of ish important to the plot sort of so read it pleeeease? I didn't want to put it at the beginning cause it's super long.**

**Today I don't have school even though it's Monday so I got all confused with the days...agh. But oh well :P**

**Hope you enjoy :D**

* * *

Shinichi walked into the café with Ran at his side, looking around to find Kaito and Aoko. Ran had spent entirely too long getting ready for this little outing, so they arrived late. Before Shinichi even had a chance to finish his visual scan of the place, he heard Kaito excitedly calling his name out. Shinichi sighed, grabbed Ran's hand, and dragged her toward their table.

"Hey, Kaito-kun," he said as he sat down. "Hello, Nakamori-san."

"Hey Kudou-kun, Ran-chan!" Aoko replied, smiling.

"Shinichi-kun, Shinichi-kun!" Kaito exclaimed. "Did you see the amazing thing Kaitou Kid did last night at his heist? It was absolutely _amazing_, wasn't it? He's such a good magician! Oh, and you don't have to order, I already ordered for you, see? Here it comes now! Your takoyaki, broccoli, and rice. Oh, your coffee already arrived too. It might not be hot by now, and I added some sugar for you, since it tastes awful. That's what happens when you're late, Shinichi-kun!" He winked and popped out a white rose to Shinichi. Shinichi knew that the best thing to do would be to just take the damn thing, so he did. Ran nudged him subtly. She whispered, "Shinchi, he's such a good friend, isn't he? He gave you a rose! And he knows you love coffee—"

"Secrets don't make friends," Kaito yelled cheerfully. "Let me in on it, huh? What is it? Is it about the way Aoko's skirt makes her look like a square gorilla? Her underwear choice doesn't help matters either!"

Aoko gaped at him. "BaKaito!" she roared. "Firstly, you do NOT insult my clothing! Ever! Secondly, why the hell were you looking at my damn underwear?"

While the two battled in their seats, Shinichi took a bite of takoyaki and turned to Ran. "Let me just straighten this up for you, Ran. Kaito gives everyone roses. And I'm pretty sure everyone knows I love coffee. It's practically all that runs through my veins!"

"Sure, sure…" Ran said, obviously only agreeing to assuage Shinichi.

"Shinichi-kun!" Kaito, somehow, always made Shinichi's name sound bright and bubbly. "I wanted to tell you that—"

"Excuse me, kids," a man said. The teens all turned to the man. "You're all being quite a bit too loud, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave after you've paid for your meal."

"But we barely started!" Kaito whined.

"Kaito, idiot, this is your fault anyway!" Aoko accused.

"Yes, sir, of course. We're sorry to have burdened you and any customers we may have bothered." Shinichi and Ran bowed their heads, and Shinichi handed over the payment for the meal. The man looked genuinely surprised that Shinichi was such a polite boy after all the screaming that Kaito and Aoko had done.

"Idiot!" Shinichi reprimanded once they were out on the street. "I cannot believe that you just got us kicked out of that place!"

Kaito ignored him and looked at Shinichi's empty hands. "Shinichi-kun, where's the flower I gave you?"

"Huh? Oh, I left it on the table. It doesn't matter though, really. Let's just…go, okay, Ran?" But Ran was already walking away with Aoko, toward a clothing shop. She turned around, hearing her name being called. "You go on with Kaito-kun, okay, Shinichi? I'll go home later!"

"Shinichi-kun…" Kaito said. _He says my name way too much,_ Shinichi thought. When he looked at the other boy, however, he saw the tears welling up in those violet eyes. It occurred to Shinichi that they were probably fake, but it sent a twinge through his body nonetheless. "You…don't care about my gift? It was special…"

Shinichi sighed. He really wasn't in the mood. Was he _ever_? "Look, Kaito-kun, it's just a rose. You give them out all the time! It's not big deal to lose one, right?"

"Shinichi-kun! I gave you that rose because I care about you! Idiot!" Kaito ran back into the restaurant.

"Kudou-kun, what did you do to him?"

Shinichi turned around. "Ah, Nakamori-san. Kaito-kun just threw a fit because I didn't bring the stupid flower he gave me out of the restaurant. Dunno what the big deal was."

"I'm sorry to say this, Kudou-kun, but you really are stupid. You don't realize, I guess…Kaito doesn't have any really good friends like you. He has me and Hakuba-kun, but as for others…they just sort of treat him like a source of entertainment, or a distant classmate. People don't open up to him, or let him open up to them. They don't care enough to yell at him for being an idiot or comfort him when he's sad. He told me that you're the best guy friend he's ever had. He really cares about you. So when he gives you roses, it's a symbol of your friendship. He's trying to give you a return gift for being such a great friend to him."

Shinichi was quiet for a few moments, and just as Aoko thought he was beginning to understand, he said, "But should you really read so much into it? How can you take such a deep meaning from a freakin' flower?"

"Ugh! There must be nothing but book smarts in that head of yours, Kudou-kun! It's _Kaito _we're talking about! He doesn't go around giving guys flowers. I don't know if you've noticed, but he usually only gives out red ones. That's why it means something. He gives you white roses as a sign of friendship…Oh, right! The reason I came back out here was because Ran-chan told me to ask you if you wanted to go to Tropical Land next Sunday."

Shinichi blushed. He had hoped it'd never come to this. He didn't think of Ran that way anymore. She was more like a sister. Specifically an _older _sister, since Conan. "Um, I…I don't think that's the best idea…I mean, we're just friends, Ran and I, and I don't—"

"Oh! No, silly. Kaito and I will go too. It's not like a date."

"Well...okay then, sounds fun." Shinichi was relieved that it wasn't what he had thought. While he watched Aoko return to Ran and thought about how awkward it would be to have to reject the latter, a white rose appeared in front of his face.

"Shinichi-kun, I found it!" Kaito announced happily. "So, what should we do now?"

Shinichi stared at him for a moment. Then, thinking about what Aoko had said about how important his friendship was to Kaito, he took the rose and motioned for Kaito to follow him. "C'mon, let's do something fun."

* * *

**Short chapter, I guess? Sorry. I just thought that was a good place to end it…And yeah, it's a random, plotless filler. Ah, well. It helps build up to the more important stuff in the story, see?**

******And long thing: I wrote this before all those Magic Kaito specials came out and in those they totally steal my white rose idea, but whatever. Sticking to just where he appears in DC, I know it's customary for Kaito to give red roses, but I feel like it's more personal to change colors according to who he's giving it to. I always had some sort of romantic idea with Shinichi and him...****I'll probably add that into the story, just a little side-plot or whatever. White roses, by the way, are symbols of innocence, honor, reverence, and secrecy. Of course, there are others, but those are the themes I wanted to convey with the white rose in this story. Now, I'm not a crazy symbolic person, but I thought that since Kaito would give roses out anyway, I might as well play with it to my advantage, make it a part of the story. My point to it is that they're friends straightaway and that Kaito respects Shinichi's intelligence and whatnot, and that he has a secret from Shinichi. (Obviously that he's Kid.) And as it goes on, I want it to seem like…I dunno how to explain. Like their bonds gets stronger as they become better friends and whatnot? And yeah, they're not gonna be in love with each other right off, although it's pretty hard to resist that temptation xD I know there are already hints and stuff, but I don't want to make it so straightforward. Maybe just Kaito has a little thing for him right now that even **_**he **_**barely understands.**

******Thanks for reading! Please review cause it makes authors happy and inspired? :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**This is sorta another plotless filler. I just want them to have some fun with each other before I start to torture them with angst and whatnot…**

**If, when you read this, you think, "Deep-fried Milky Way? Ewwww!" let me tell you! Those things are freaking delicious! Try one, really. They're pretty damn amazing~ :]]]]] (That's my super fat kid smiley!)**

**And gahh, my transitions are getting sloppy. In this one they're standing there talking and whatnot and then, suddenly, it's like BAM! Shinichi gets off the rollercoaster. xP I know it sucks, but bear with me, okay?**

**Sorry for the long wait haha...I'm sad to admit that I forgot about it.**

* * *

"Ever get the feeling they do this stuff on purpose?" Shinichi irritatedly asked his equally annoyed counterpart.

"Of course they do, my dear Shinichi-kun."

Currently, "dear" Shinichi and Kaito stood in the midst of a bustling, giddy, very _loud_ crowd of amusement park-goers. Aoko and Ran had just called, claiming that they had seen a huge store full of cute clothes and amazing sales. The evidence pointed to their bold-faced lie: they had the tv on, the popcorn in the microwave, and they giggled mercilessly whilst insisting that Kaito and Shinichi have fun without them.

"Alright," Shinichi sighed. "What do you want to do first?"

"Ah, Shini—" Kaito started, but stopped when Shinichi turned to see what he wanted. He looked down at the ground for a moment, and then back up to Shinichi, smiling again quickly. "Never mind!" He grabbed Shinichi's arm and began dragging him toward a large rollercoaster.

Shinichi, thinking he knew what was bothering Kaito, grabbed him and spun him around. "Hey," he said. "This is the seventh time we've gone out together, and you've given me a rose every single time. Where is it, hm? My rose?"

Kaito's eyes widened, his poker face dropping. He seemed to do that too much when Shinichi was around. "R-really? You care? I thought you didn't mind if I didn't give one to you!"

_Got it! _Shinichi thought triumphantly. _It's good to see him happy again._ He nodded and took the rose when offered, without a groan, an eye roll, a sigh, or a mutter. Maybe a slight blush. Just maybe.

Shinichi stumbled off the rollercoaster in a daze. Not looking at it before getting on had been an extremely dangerous idea, as Kaito tended to pick them large and upside-down. Shinichi had felt fine at first, until the rollercoaster took them through a triple loop. Oh, then he felt sick. Now, getting off, he was just dizzy and nauseous. Kaito, on the other hand, the bastard, was giggling and bouncing and exclaiming about how much fun it had been. He then grabbed Shinichi's hand, insisting that they go on an even more dangerous-looking ride.

"Err, you know what, Kaito-kun?" Shinichi suggested. "Let's just sit down and get some food instead. I'm a bit hungry now…"

"Oh, really?! Well, you should've just said so in the first place, silly Shinichi-kun!" With this, Kaito grabbed the scared boy's hand and dragged him to a nearby bench. "Sit here and I'll get you some supremely yummy food!" Shinichi watched as Kaito all but skipped away.

After Kaito didn't come back for more than ten minutes, Shinichi sighed and settled himself on the bench in a comfortable position, laying down with his eyes closed.

"Shin-chan?"

Shinichi mumbled inaudibly. He'd barely fallen asleep, and was already being woken up. It sounded like his mother was calling his name…

"Shin-chan!" Oh, God. It _was _his mother, wasn't it? Shinichi snapped his eyes open and sat up—a little too fast, as he got slightly dizzy.

"Mom! Wh-what are you doing here?" His mother, as usual, was all smiles, giggling and whatnot. Shinichi was reminded briefly of Kaito's cheerfulness. Where was that guy, anyway?

"Well, Shin-chan, it's the funniest story, really! I was just walking around, minding my own business, when I saw…_you! _But you were smiling and purchasing cotton candy and other junk food, so I thought 'this must be a trick!' so I walked over to you and you said—"

Kaito popped up from behind her and interrupted. "—And I said, 'Sorry, ojou-san, I'm not Shinichi-kun! I'm Kaito!' and promptly gave your lovely mother a rose. We talked a little bit and then she was all excited that you were here and so she wanted to see you. I didn't realize I'd been gone so long and that you would be asleep when I finally returned to you, Shinichi-kun. But anyway, I brought you some food, like you asked." He handed Shinichi cotton candy, a hot dog, a lollipop the size of his head, popcorn, and what looked suspiciously like a deep-fried Milky Way.

Arms overflowing with unhealthy…stuff, Shinichi looked up at Kaito. "Kaito-kun, I didn't really want quite this much food. And it's all extremely unhealthy. I'm never going to be able to—"

"Oh! Almost forgot! Here's your drink!" Kaito produced a cup from seemingly nowhere, much to Yukiko's amazement. "Eat up!"

With the two watching, Shinichi couldn't just refuse, so he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Then, feeling thirsty, he picked up his drink. Before taking a sip, though, he disappointedly thought to himself, _Oh yeah. I didn't tell Kaito-kun that I've loved the specially made lemonade here since I was a kid. Oh, well. Maybe next time…_ He could remember when he was young and his father would bring him here. Every time, he'd buy Shinichi some of that lemonade. Nectar of the gods, it was. Lo and behold, however…when Shinichi took a sip, he tasted the magical lemonade slide down his throat. He looked up at Kaito, who was chatting happily with Yukiko, in surprise. "Kaito-kun." Kaito stopped talking and glanced down at Shinichi.

"Oh, Shinichi-kun!" Kaito said happily. "I got you that special lemonade that you love so much. You do, right? You really love it?"

Shinichi did _not _blush. "How'd you know?"

"Well, silly, it was obvious. When we first arrived, you stared at the lemonade stand for a few moments, smiled, and continued walking. I don't think you realized you did that, but you did. It was apparent to me then that you were fond of the stuff, so when I went to get your food, I decided to surprise you with some lemonade as well!" Kaito then resumed his conversation with Yukiko.

He really understood Shinichi. Had anyone ever understood him that much? Had anyone ever watched him so closely that they noticed the little things about him, like what drinks he loved? He'd thought it was a coincidence, but Kaito had also known exactly how he liked his popcorn as well—half burnt and just a little bit of butter. Shinichi wondered if he'd asked them to make it like that. Maybe he'd paid them extra to halfway burn it…

Shinichi could feel his face getting redder by the moment, and his eyes welling up with heartfelt tears. He was glad it was already dark, but if he cried they'd surely notice. _Mustn't cry, mustn't cry…_Shinichi took deep, calming breaths and felt the heartwarming feeling inside compose itself. His eyes still seemed a bit wet, but he blinked away the tears and smiled at Kaito while he wasn't watching.

Kaito's cell phone rang and he excused himself to answer it because it was "the beastly Aoko" and if he didn't answer it, apparently, he'd be murdered in his sleep and Shinichi would have to solve his murder blindly through the tears in his eyes over losing his best friend.

Yukiko sat down next to Shinichi when Kaito walked off, teasing Aoko about something. She hummed, smiling slightly, staring at Shinichi. He knew that. That was either her I-know-a-secret hum or her I-just-had-sex-with-your-father hum. Considering the circumstances, he guessed it was the former. "What is it, mother?" he asked with irritation, as she persisted with her humming until he had asked.

She giggled now. "Oh, Shin-chan! I think it's so cute that you've finally found someone you like!"

Shinichi relaxed a bit. Was that all it was? She was glad that he had a good friend besides Ran? "Well, yeah, Mom. I mean, sure, Kaito's eccentric, a little bit haughty, and just all over _crazy_, but for some reason we—wait, wait. Mom! What kind of "like" are you talking about here?!" He stared at his mother in half-disgust, half-embarrassment.

Yukiko laughed. "Took you long enough to realize what I meant! Shin-chan, it's obvious that you two are very good friends right now...You seem like complete opposites and great friends, which are two extremely important factors in a good relationship. Now, Shin-chan, I know that right now you're thinking this is crazy, but just take my advice. When you finally realize you've fallen for him, don't avoid him, because that's the kind of thing you'd do. Make sure to stay near him and act the same as usual, if not nicer because don't you want him to like you too? Oh, and also, when you're having—"

"Mom," Shinichi said sternly. "This is ridiculous. Kaito-kun and I are not…we don't _like _one another like that. We're friends, that's all."

"That's all? Shin-chan, maybe for now that's true, but someday…"

"Mom, stop it! That's abhorrent!" Just the thought of doing something to Kaito, like…kissing him, made him woozy.

"Shinichi!" Yukiko said, sounding appalled. "Your father and I did _not _raise you to be homophobic."

"Huh? Homo…no! Mom, I'm not! I'm just saying that _I'm_ not…and _he's_ not…_we're_ not…augh, Mom, listen, we're just friends, okay?"

"Where'd you get the rose?" she nodded toward the rose he'd set beside him on the bench. If he didn't keep it, Kaito'd get upset again.

"Uh…well, Kaito-kun's friend said that it's a sign of our friendship and that I have to keep it or he'll get sad!" Did that really just come out of Shinichi's mouth? He was a detective, not an impressionable four-year-old. He didn't believe in stupid things like the _meaning _of roses or whatever. He believed in facts and evidence.

His mother obviously agreed that this wasn't a very Shinichi-esque thing to say, because she just stared at him for a minute and then laughed a little. Shaking her head, she said, "Okay, Shin-chan, sure. You're just friends. Well, I should probably be leaving soon. Your father's expecting me back at home. We'll be here for the week, isn't that exciting?!"

_Oh, yeah,_ Shinichi thought sarcastically. _I'm so glad to have my eccentric, bossy mother home with me for a week._

"Oh, you're leaving?" Kaito said from behind, causing Shinichi to jump. "Well, I wish you the best and hope to the heavens that I may be graced with your presence once again, ojou-san." With that, he swept down into a bow.

_Oi, oi…_thought Shinichi, his eye twitching at Kaito's flirty act. Flirting with his _mother _of all people! "Jeez, Kaito, have you absolutely no shame?"

Kaito turned to Shinichi from Yukiko's flattered giggles, eyes wide, and said, "Why, of course not, Shinichi-kun! How silly of you to think I know even what that word means! Or perhaps you were just jealous? Would you rather I flirt with you?"

"Oh my, Shin-chan!" Yukiko teased. "That's it, isn't it? You're jealous! Don't worry, your dear mother shan't take your new boyfriend from you."

Kaito seemed almost embarrassed now, or was it just Shinichi's mind playing tricks? "Oh, no, ojou-san," he insisted. "I may not have much shame, but a line I will not cross is to have my best friend's mother thinking dirty thoughts about us!"

Yukiko laughed. "Well, I suppose I'll be going now! Good-bye, Kaito-kun. You're very polite, and I'm sure you'll be good for my Shin-chan. See you at home, Shin-chan!" She waved and skipped out of the park.

Shinichi barely paid her attention. He was blushing quite profusely. When his mother was out of sight, he still had his mind churning over the thought…

"Well, Shinichi-kun?" Kaito asked, not realizing Shinichi was deep in thought. "Shall we be going too? Or would you rather stay for a while…? Shin-i-chiiiii-kun?"

"Best friend?" Shinichi asked, finally locking eyes with Kaito. "Really…?"

"What? Oh, that. Is that what you're brooding about? If you don't want me to use that label for you, I won't, but I thought you wouldn't mind all that much."

Shinichi just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Kaito, the hyper magician, Shinichi's best friend? The thing was…he could almost see that. It was true, wasn't it? Unfathomable, but true. Ran had always been there for him, but what was sistership compared with best friendship? _Listen to me, I'm not even using real words!_ he thought next. He noticed Kaito turning and starting to walk ahead, but the confused Shinichi grabbed his hand. "Hey," he said. Kaito glanced back at him. "I think you've got a point…maybe you and I are like best friends."

Kaito's face brightened extensively. "Really?! Oh, yeah! Let's stay best friends, Shinichi-kun! I haven't ever bonded with anyone like I am with you."

Shinichi smiled. "You sound like a toddler, Kaito-kun, but I have to agree." Suddenly, he was pulled into a hug. "Whoa, um…" Kaito wasn't letting go anytime soon, it seemed, as he tightened his grip instead of loosening it. Shinichi awkwardly hugged him in return, patting his back.

* * *

**Eheheh, that ending didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Ahh, well. Weird place to end it, I suppose :/ (I accidentally starting writing "pussose" right there xD)**

**Please review! It really means a lot when you do :')**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/n- Hey! I forgot to update D: Sorry**** (About this chapter: it's kinda boring, cause when I began writing it, after I wrote three paragraphs I left it alone for many months xP This gave me SUCH bad writer's block :P I'd open it and stare at it and write absolutely nothing.)**

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Shinichi awoke the next morning to singing and very loud shushing. He groaned and shuffled out of his room in time to hear his father scolding his mother. "Yukiko, Shinichi is sleeping and it's only 7:30 AM. Don't you remember being a teenager once? Cut him some slack and stop singing…And _I'd_ like to have some peace and quiet for once as well."

"Aw, Yusaku!" his mother complained, already bubbly at such an early hour, "Shin-chan never sleeps longer than eight anyway, what's wrong with wanting some quality time to spend with him?"

Shinichi sighed as he walked into the Kudou family living room. "It doesn't matter whether you want to spend time with me or not. You know very well that today is Monday and I have school." He watched his mother pout and stared her down relentlessly. But she pouted…and pouted…and pouted. "Mother! Stop it! I'm going to school and there's nothing you can do about it."

Shinichi made it to school finally, after his mother made a fuss about stupid quality time with her own son. Yeah, right. He entered his classroom to see his classmates scattered around the room excitedly chattering about something or other.

"Shinichi!" Ran called. She beckoned him over to where she sat with Sonoko, reading what looked like a newspaper. "You've read the paper this morning, right? Sonoko's just _raving _with jealousy right now." Sonoko pointedly turned her head away from him when he looked at her.

"Uh…my parents are home right now, and they're a little nuts, as you know. I didn't actually have time to do any reading this morning. No newspaper, no Sherlock Holmes, nothing." He stared out the window in a wistful sort of way. Oh, if only he'd had time to read!

"Well, Kaito Kid sent a heist note and it was publicized today. Everyone's saying it's a challenge to you!"

Shinichi glanced back at Ran in surprise, motioning for her to hand him the newspaper. Sure enough, a copy of a heist note was printed on the paper. He quickly scanned it first, and then read it again slowly to let the entire meaning sink in.

_Where the sun rises, the challenged one waits._

_On the wing of pure swan, in the night of full light, the challenger swoops in._

_I will arrive at eight o'clock to acquire The Reward of Faith._

_Kaito Kid_

He was already calculating the information the note handed out. Meanwhile, Ran was trying to get his attention. "Hey..HEY. Shinichi!"

Shinichi sighed. "What? I'm trying to figure this out, Ran."

"Well, what do you think?"

Shinichi surveyed her for a moment, and then began to describe his suspicions. "Well, it seems that everyone's correct about the 'challenged one', or challengee if you will, being me. The sun rises in the east, as you know, and I've been nicknamed the Detective of the East. As for the second line…well, 'on the wing of pure swan' makes it obvious he's coming by his usual hang glider; in the night of full light probably means a full moon. The final line seems self-explanatory...I'm not sure what this 'Reward of Faith' is though. I'll have to research that."

"That's great, Shinichi! But you're not leaving now, are you? To research and plan? School's just about to start." Ran glanced worriedly at the teacher's empty desk and then the clock. Only two minutes until the final bell, and the teacher would be in class very soon.

Shinichi opened his mouth to whine and protest and absolutely insist that he go that instant. But then he decided that Ran could have her moment of happiness, so he sat down in his chair, ready to learn. Of course, he couldn't pay much attention to school when thoughts of the thief swirled through his mind.

The detective all but ran into his house, eager and curious after an entire day of wondering.

"Hello!" called a chipper voice. "How was school?"

Shinichi slowed, seeing his mother smiling up at him from a chair positioned randomly in the middle of the foyer. He wasn't going to question her strange furniture-moving style. _Oh yeah, _he thought. _Almost forgot they were still here._ "It was great, Mother. Uh, can I talk to you a bit later? I've got something to do."

"Must be about the Kid heist," chuckled Yusaku as he walked in. "Excited, are you?"

Shinichi nodded, and then looked at the two in confusion. "Okay, at first I wasn't going to say anything, but honestly. What are you two doing hanging around in the foyer?"

"Your mother wanted to. Just because she's strange." Yusaku shrugged. Shinichi paid no mind now, continuing his determined walk to the nearest computer. "Oh, Shinichi," his father called before Shinichi got too far. He turned around, almost bouncing with impatience. "Instead of spending time searching on the computer, try calling Megure-keibu about the information. He'd be helpful, right?"

"Oh, I was planning on going to the headquarters after I looked it up and talking with Nakamori-keibu about it."

"So?" his mother inquired. "Do you think you know what he's going to do?"

Shinichi nodded. "It's pretty straightforward, really...Not much to it."

Yukiko pouted a bit. "Your father took absolutely no time in figuring it out either. You two are just no fun; I don't get to see you squirm when you don't understand something. There's always a chance it could be something deeper than it seems, but no. You two are just so sure of yourselves."

Now he let out a full-fledged laugh. "Well, in any case, I suppose I'll just need to spend a moment on the computer and then I'll head out to tell them about it."

On the computer, Shinichi found exactly what he was looking for: next Sunday night, there would be an exact full moon. And the Harimiya Museum on that night was showcasing an exquisite sapphire named The Reward Of Faith. At eight o'clock, Kid would be there.

After discussing a few details of the heist with Nakamori-keibu, who was fired up already and furiously yelled at him for "interfering in police affairs" (meaning that he was childishly jealous that a teenager understood a criminal notice better than the inspector in charge of catching said criminal did), and promising to attend the heist and help catch Kid, Shinichi decided to eat dinner away from his crazy foyer-lounging parents. In a spur of the moment decision, he found himself at the Super Pepper. Ah, the root beer smell…What made it smell that way, anyhow?

"Shinichi-kun?" Shinichi looked up from his menu, not expecting to come face to face with himself. And yet here he was, Kaito Kuroba, smiling down at his best friend. He didn't wait for Shinichi to say anything else, just began sliding into the booth across from him, babbling the entire time. "Wow, I didn't know you really liked it here that much, I mean I do, I love it, but you? Weird. Oh, we met here too! That's cool. It's just pretty weird seeing you here, right? And Kaito Kid's heist! Ah! You've seen it, I presume, of course you have, it's definitely meant just for you. Haha! I'm so jealous, Shinichi-kun. Ooh, what are you going to get? I think I'll have some soup. Will you pay for me? Please? I'll be your best friend. Oh, I already am and I have something for you, here!" Finally he shut up and offered yet another white rose to Shinichi.

Shinichi sighed inwardly, even though he knew that he didn't mind all that much…he actually liked Kaito a lot more than he pretended to. He smiled and took the rose. "Thanks, Kaito-kun. Don't you live in Ekoda though? That's pretty far from here, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. I don't come here that often, just when I feel especially like coming this far. I was going to visit you later anyway."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Good thing you didn't."

"Huh? Why's that? You didn't want me to visit? Oh, Shinichi-kun, silly, I wasn't going to impose and bother you and spend the night again. Don't worry!"

"Well, no, that's not it. It's just that my parents are staying for the week…"

"Your mother's very nice! I'd really love to meet your dad. What's he like?"

"He's…" Shinichi stopped for a moment and thought. "I guess he's sort of like me. He's an author."

The waiter came and took their orders. When he left again, Shinichi habitually surveyed the room for a moment and then looked back at Kaito to see him smiling and staring intently. At Shinichi. Kind of creepy. "Wh-what are you doing?" he asked.

Kaito smirked. "I like watching you. It's fun." He blinked fondly and continued staring.

_Why do I like him? At all?_

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**Haha. The end :D I got un-blocked in the middle, but by the end my bowels for writing were just not working. I actually was looking at something totally unrelated when I found the name Nubou, and I was like "Oh my gosh, the sapphire's name is the Reward of Faith!" and that's a real sapphire, by the way. So I decided to make it more tricky and like Shinichi could figure out because he's smart and knows English.**

**Review, yeeees? Please? Shpank you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Ahhhh. When I wrote this chapter I got sick. No kidding. Ew.**

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"ACHOO!" Shinichi yelled, relishing the time when the boogers _finally _launched out of his nose. It had been almost an hour since the twinge feeling had started. _Why did it have to be today? _Shinichi thought with depression. _Sunday. Of all days! I absolutely hate being sick, and for it to be this important of a day…_

He heard a door opening and closing downstairs. Suspiciously, he sat up in bed. Bad idea, his head told him in the form of incessant pounding. His parents had gone home yesterday (with a quite dramatic send-off). Who was nonchalantly coming inside his house? Sniffle. Mystery-person sounded like he/she was walking up the stairs. Footfalls were quick, and they sounded like a man's. His heart began beating faster when the person came closer to his room. He was in no condition to resist or fight if it was a malicious person…

"Shinichi-kun!"

Oh. Malicious? Ha. Shinichi slumped back down in bed, closing his eyes to the loud magician in front of him. "Shinichi…kun?" Now it was a question. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, sure." His voice betrayed him: obviously, he was congested.

"Don't lie!" Kaito sternly ordered, narrowing his eyes.

"Ugh…my head is pounding and spinning, my nose is so stuffed I can't stand it, my throat is sore…I was fine yesterday. I hate this."

"Oh no!" Kaito exclaimed. Shinichi peeked at him through half-open eyes. He looked genuinely worried.

"Don't worry, it's just a cold. I'm just angry that I can't go to the Kid heist like this."

Something in Kaito's expression was odd for a moment…Then he declared, "I won't go either. I was going to accompany you, but I'm going to stay right here and nurse you back to health, Shinichi-kun."

He definitely looked determined, but Shinichi tried to convince him to leave. "Kaito-kun, I honestly appreciate the offer and I'm truly touched by how much you care," here he took a breath with his mouth, "but you really don't have to. Go see your thief idol."

Kaito shook his head. "No. It'd be no fun without you there. Come on, let me help. I promise to be quiet. Oh, or I could read you a book! A good one! Sherlock Holmes?"

Shinichi smiled. "Thanks for trying. Though I'd rather just lay here, miserable, instead of reading."

Kaito looked concerned. Then he set to work, having the boss's confirmation that he could stay. "Well, first of all, you actually _shouldn't _be laying down. Here, let me…" He made Shinichi sit up in his bed, positioned the pillows so that Shinichi could sit comfortably on them, and laid Shinichi back onto them in a sitting position. "See? Now you can breathe a bit better through your nose. Also…I know how much you like coffee, but I'm making you some tea. Later tonight I'll make you chicken soup. They say that's—"

"Achooooooooooo!" Shinichi howled. Kaito giggled a bit. "Sorry for interrupting you," Shinichi said, grabbing a tissue to blow his nose.

"They say that chicken soup is good for you when you've got a cold. And yes, by the way, I can cook!" Kaito now had a sort of smug smirk on his face that reminded Shinichi of someone...who was that? While he mulled that over, Kaito continued babbling about the benefits of chicken soup.

"Kid!" Shinichi finally decided, shouting it and then coughing directly after. Kaito blinked, looking slightly startled. "Oh, no, nothing. Not you..." It would be foolish to tell someone so close to him that he reminded him of a criminal—even if he idolized that criminal.

"Well, Shinichi-kun, I'm going to rush to the store and find some ingredients for chicken soup. Surely you have absolutely _nothing_ here; you never have cooking material." Kaito began putting on his coat, getting ready to go out.

"Wait...I'm sure that I have a can of chicken soup. Definitely." Shinichi nodded, kind of agreeing with himself.

Kaito looked back at him almost incredulously. "Ehh? A _can _of chicken soup? Really?" He chuckled, seeming to be teasing the sick boy, and his conceited attitude made Shinichi want to punch him... "Of course not, Shinichi-kun! For you to get the most out of it and feel oh-so very much better, I'm going to prepare some amazing homemade soup." Okay, maybe not _punch _him so much as kiss him...

...

What was that? Did Shinichi just think about kissing Kaito? Even for just a moment, even if he wouldn't have actually done it...It was his cold. Yes, that had to be it. He was just so sick that his mind conjured up strange ideas.

"Shinichi-kun, I'm leaving now, okay?" Kaito turned back around to face Shinichi as he said this and then gasped. Rushing over to Shinichi, he all but slapped his hand onto the sick, confused boy's head. Looking down at him in concern, Kaito said, "Shinichi-kun, your face is so red and hot! Are you okay? Has your fever gone up?"

_Oh, crap. Am I blushing?_ That thought made him blush harder still. When Shinichi looked up at Kaito to answer, however, he couldn't keep his blue eyes focused on Kaito's violet ones. His gaze instead traveled down the nose...and to the lips. Kaito's lips were pretty; they looked plump and red and luscious and—what was he thinking? God. He had to stop thinking about these perverse things and answer the waiting worried boy's question. He opened his mouth to reply, barely able to rip his gaze away from those aforementioned luscious-looking lips. What came out instead of his intended "I'm fine" was this mortifying question: "Can I kiss you?"

Kaito's eyes widened immensely, and his face suddenly became alight with a blush. "Wh-what? Shinichi-kun...you...I...really?"

Shinichi thought about it for a few seconds. _Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Gah, why did I say that? My stupid mouth doesn't listen to my brain. How do I get out of this...? _But while he tried to find a way to excuse his embarrassing question, his eyes were once again drawn to Kaito's lips. And he found himself saying, "Yes, really, you doofus."

Kaito inhaled nervously and leaned down slowly, closer and closer to Shinichi's expectant, sick, red face...

And then he quickly pulled back, shaking his head. "Shinichi-kun, you're sick. I can't take anything you say seriously. Ha ha ha, silly, not like you'd want me to kiss you if you were, well, sane. Anyway, you have a fever so I'll buy some medicine while I'm out. Uh, ha, well, bye then Shinichi-kun! Be good while I'm gone."

Kaito escaped and closed Shinichi's bedroom door. With a sigh, he rubbed his face and tried to get the image out of his mind. There was Shinichi...laying in his bed of all places, randomly asking Kaito for a k...a kiss. A kiss! Shinichi Kudou wanted to kiss Kaito Kuroba?! No, no, no. Shinichi was very, very sick. He would never want that. Of course not. He was sick. That explains all his actions, right? Yeah...that's it.

Back in his room, Shinichi stared at the door with a frown and muttered to himself, "It would've been really nice if he'd actually done it." He waited for a few minutes, staring at the door in disappointment, and then slowly drifted to sleep.

"Shin...ichi...kun..." Kaito whispered slowly. Seeing no response from Shinichi, Kaito gently felt the forehead that had been so hot before. Now, it was barely warmer than normal. Contemplating for a moment, Kaito ducked down and swiftly kissed Shinichi's cheek. "Okay, I kissed you," Kaito whispered to the sleeping boy, "Happy now?" Of course, Shinichi wasn't awake to answer. Kaito smiled fondly at him.

And then Shinichi's cell phone, poised on his bedside table, rang. The sudden noise caused Kaito to twitch in surprise and Shinichi to wake with a start. "Aaaaah..." he moaned, sounding utterly, miserably sick. He grabbed the phone, glancing at Kaito with a smile to acknowledge his return. "Hello?" he said into the phone.

"_Kudou-kun!" _The voice of Ginzo Nakamori boomed through the phone. "_Do you realize what time it is?"_

"Uh..." Shinichi replied, realizing that no, he didn't know what time it was, because he'd never thought to keep a clock in his room. _Weird...I should really see to it that I get one in here for times like these. _"Not really. Why?"

"_It's eight-thirty! Eight-thirty, you dimwit!" _Shinichi rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away from his ear a bit to ease the loudness of Nakamori-keibu's yelling. "_You were supposed to come to Kid's Heist!"_

"Well, I'm sick. And I was under the impression that you didn't particularly want me there anyway. How did it go? Badly?" Compared to Nakamori-keibu's absurdly loud ferocity, Shinichi was calm as could be.

"_He didn't show."_

That's all he had to say for Shinichi to really get interested. "What?! He didn't show? Does that mean he didn't take the jewel?"

"_Of course that's what it means! Agh, I'm surrounded by idiots!"_

"Is there...I mean, you didn't do anything to keep him away, did you?" It would be just like the hot-headed man to sneakily provide a fake gem or some other suspicious decoy that Kid would see right through.

"_No! Real gem, plenty of security, the usual. He just...didn't come._" A voice shouted in the background, and Nakamori-keibu sighed. "_Well, anyhow, I wanted to know if you had any ideas on this. Tell me if you figure something out; bye." _With that, he was gone.

"Shinichi-kun, what's going on?" Kaito asked. Shinichi turned to him and explained the situation. "Oh! He didn't show up? That doesn't seem like him; he _is _a famous thief, after all. Hmm...maybe he had something urgent to do."

Shinichi shook his head. "Doubt it. You really make no sense. You need to stop acting like he's some sort of all-supreme god; he's not a saint, he's a thief. Thieves are criminals. If he says he's going to steal something, he's probably not going to lie."

Kaito dropped his happy facade. "Haven't we talked about this before, Shinichi-kun? Kaitou Kid...he may be a criminal, but that doesn't mean he isn't a person; that doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings. He's probably a really great person inside."

"Look, I know you think that. I'm not saying he's the worst of them all, but he deserves punishment. Do you realize that? Criminals need to be punished."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. He's just...he's a great magician, you know. Almost as good as _moi_." Kaito still wasn't back to his normal self; it was apparent although the smile appeared again. "Anyone who's that great, that creative...do you think he's all bad?"

Shinichi stared at Kaito. The truth was...he didn't. He didn't think Kid was that bad at all, and Kaito made a good point. However, he committed crimes. How could he make Kaito understand...? "I don't think he's as bad as some others. He returns things he steals and he cares about peoples' safety." He tried a smile, and Kaito reciprocated it without complaint, like a sign of forgiveness.

_Kaito-kun's smile...it makes me happy. _Seeing him smile like that made Shinichi smile even more. When he smiled, Kaito's eyes lit up and his face just bloomed with happiness and it was...beautiful. "Thanks for trying to understand, Shinichi-kun. I just really..." he looked away, his face turning from a strange annoyance, presumably at himself, to a thoughtful smile. "Well, you know I'm fascinated by him. And I really care about you. I'd like you to understand at least _why_ I think the way I do." His pink, vulnerable face coupled with his slight smile—different than the normal Kaito: confident and secure, a huge grin on his face—really just distracted Shinichi from what Kaito was saying.

"Jeez, Kaito-kun," he said. "Why do you have to be so damn cute?"

Kaito stopped talking, staring at Shinichi, blinking. "Sh-sh-shinichi-kun...? Um, you..."

Shinichi quickly slapped a hand to his mouth. "Shit! I-I didn't mean to say that out loud, I just...agh, it's my stupid cold. It's making me say things I don't mean to say...just forget that."

"Right. Definitely. So, your soup is probably ready...want some? And maybe that kiss?" Kaito winked to show it was a joke and smirked, more like his normal self. _Not uncute, just not as genuine,_ Shinichi decided while nodding in response to Kaito's question about soup. Kaito continued smiling, soon back to his normal magical, chipper, pain-in-the-ass self. _Nope. Definitely still cute._

* * *

**Oh my...I had originally planned for just some hintage as to the whole Kaitou Kid thing and feelings that started to come up...but it seems as if I went much, much too far with the feelings thing. It got a little fluffy there, yeah? Oops. I fail as an author. Oh well! The story took me where it wanted to go, not the other way around. I'm okay with it, I suppose.**

**Anyway sorry if it's moving too...fast or something? Nothing should happen for a bit anyway so no worries :D**

**And please review because I haven't been getting many :( I love reviews!**

**Also this is a really out of character chapter and Kaito is always hard to get haha. Ooops sorry! AND ANOTHER APOLOGY is that I know a few of you were looking forward to the heist and if this hadn't been a mostly pre-written story I probably would have written it but this was supposed to be like an actual plot chapter even though it wasn't much but fluff...it did honestly move the plot on a lot. So I'm sorry if it disappointed any of you that the heist this time wasn't shown. There will be another! I promise. For sure at least two more.**


	9. Chapter 9

A/n - **My boyfriend said to me, "I want to read your stories!" and I said "Um...but they're fan fictions. You won't know what's going on." and he said "Well then just let me read a story that's not a fan fiction..." and I, of course, ellipsesed at him: "..." and he said "Okay, I'll read one of your fan fictions." and I said "Oh...well, you know they're that gay thing." ("That gay thing" is basically how he recognizes yaoi/shounen-ai) and he said, "Um...what about one that's not that gay thing?" and I, again, ellipsesed. He sighed. xD Yaoi fan fictions are the extent of my writing. (Currently :P)**

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Ran glanced at Shinichi. "Are you sure you're okay, Shinichi? I mean, just a few days ago you weren't even well enough to get out of bed...Oh, and a certain someone told me that you spoke nonsense."

Shinichi blushed. "N-nonsense? Psh! I, Kudou Shinichi, speak nonsense? Ran, maybe you're the sick one. I am definitely fine." He nodded curtly and said to himself as he walked away, "'Nonsense', she says! Ha!"

He quickly walked toward the school, which was bustling with students. It was Wednesday now, and he'd had to take two entire days off from school—the second of which was not his decision. Ran had refused to allow him to go to school. It was a miracle she'd been lenient enough to let him finally go. Shinichi wasn't feeling completely better, but he didn't have a fever, so she couldn't argue much.

Ran caught up with him soon enough, and he thought again of what had been plaguing his mind for a few days. He glanced at her, wondering if he should ask her about it. Before he could, Sonoko The Annoying sauntered over to talk to Ran. _Damn._

Finally back at school, Shinichi caught up with the lessons pretty easily, listening carefully to make sure he understood everything. By the end of the day, he didn't feel sick one bit besides his slightly running nose.

"Ran!" he called after school was dismissed. Ran turned to face him, breaking off her conversation with a karate club member. "Do you want to come visit for a bit?" They usually walked from school together until they had to part ways, so Ran's look of surprise was definitely warranted.

But, thankfully, she agreed. So the two walked together to Shinichi's house. Shinichi could tell that Ran was suspicious as to his motives, but he didn't mention his issue until they entered the Kudou residence.

Getting comfortable in the living room, Shinichi asked Ran if she wanted anything to eat or drink. She declined his offer, so he sat in a chair across from her. Inhaling, he began.

"Ran...I know you know that I didn't just want to have a friendly visit. I'll try to make it quick, because I'm sure you have things to do. So I'll just say it as bluntly as I can...just...wait a second. I'm still nervous about saying it out loud, so I'll take a moment to prepare."

He was silent for more than a moment, so Ran casually surveyed the room. Somehow, it looked exactly as it had the last time she'd been there. It was as if that instant was actually a snapshot of a former time and nothing was really—

"I think I have a crush on a guy."

"What?!" Ran asked, whipping her head back to face him. His cheeks were spilling with color at the declaration. Ran shook her head. "Sorry, sorry. I was just surprised at the abruptness of it. Umm...so..." she wasn't quite sure what to say now. "W-who...? Oh, why am I even asking? It's Kaito-kun, right?"

Shinichi's eyes avoided Ran's in any way they could. After a long silence, he finally muttered, "Yeah, I think..."

Now getting used to the idea, Ran smiled sincerely. "Wow! This is really great, Shinichi! I'm glad! You will be very happy together, I'm sure."

Shinichi finally looked at her, but with a sharp expression. "Do you even get it? I think I have a _crush _on a _guy._ A guy! That means I'm gay. If I really do have a crush on him, he'd never like me back...you know how flirtatious he is with women."

"Psh, sure he would like you. He's certainly not normal. There's nothing wrong with being gay. And anyway, what's all this about you "think" and "if" and all that?"

Shinichi looked at the ceiling, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Well..." he started. "I'm not completely sure. That's the other thing I wanted to talk about. I've never had much of a crush." He glanced back at Ran for a moment before returning his gaze to the ceiling. _Except for you..._he thought. But that was over now, and had been for a while. "I just don't really know what it's supposed to feel like."

"It's not _supposed to _feel like anything. It's all in how you perceive it. Can you start by telling me how you feel about him? That should help."

Shinichi sighed. "Okay, well...when I'm with him I'm happy, even if he's doing something stupid. If I think it's stupid I can reprimand him about it but I can't help but toss his stupidity aside when thinking about him. He makes time pass quickly and his smile is cute. I feel like I'd do anything to make him smile if he was sad. He invariably makes me happy. When I'm away from him, I think of him often and hope to see him soon and always wonder what will happen next time and when that next time will be. He doesn't have much in common with me, but somehow I feel like we're just...compatible. It's hard to express exactly how I feel, but that's it in a nutshell."

Ran didn't beat around the bush and she didn't squeal or pat his head or anything else he expected her to do. She just sat back and confirmed, "Yup. You're crushing pretty hard. Might want to grab him before someone else does."

If Shinichi's face got any redder, he was confident that it would explode. "So you think I'm definitely gay?"

"Mmmm..." Ran thought for a moment, twiddling her thumbs. "Not necessarily. You could be bisexual. Honestly, that stuff—you know, sexuality—doesn't really make a difference. It's about the person you like, not whether they're a boy or a girl. But whatever the case, I think you should let him know."

Shinichi sighed. "Okay. Thanks, Ran. And please don't tell Sonoko about this." He mentally rolled his eyes at the thought of the garrulous girl hearing of this and spreading it around to everyone she knew.

Ran nodded and smiled encouragingly at Shinichi, then stood. "Well then, I suppose that's all for now, right? If you need anything, you know how to contact me. So good luck!" She winked at him and was out of the room before he could get up and walk her out.

_Should I tell him?_ was basically the only thought swirling around in his head that evening, sitting in that same chair, then finally getting up and pacing around the room. _If I tell him and he doesn't like me, it would be awkward...but what if I don't tell him and he actually does like me and we circle each other but never meet?_ Shinichi exhaled slowly, deciding he would tell Kaito. _But what if he rejects me? Okay, maybe I shouldn't tell him...But what if...?_

"AUGH! This is so complicated!" he yelled to himself, ruffling his own hair in frustration. Giving up on his confusing thoughts, Shinichi roughly grabbed his cell phone and punched (yes, _punched_...quite aggressively) the speed dial for Kaito. He rammed it onto his ear, determined.

"Helloooo?" A cheerful voice asked, and Shinichi's heartbeat sped up considerably. Hearing the familiar voice made him feel so warm inside...oh great, he was head over heels for this nutcase. "Shinichi-kun? Hello?"

"Oh!" Shinichi said, snapping out of his embarrassed realizations. "Kaito-kun, I'm going to ask you something!"

"Sounds like an urgent confession or something, haha."

"Now isn't the time for joking, Kaito-kun," Shinichi said, completely solemn. "It's very important." He cleared his throat in preparation. "Would you like to go on a d—uh, go to that Super Pepper restaurant you like?" He blushed. Gah, he'd almost asked Kaito on an official _date._

"Sure! Why is that such a serious matter though? Uh-oh, did I do something wrong? Are you suing me?"

"You'll see."

Later that night, Shinichi stood in wait outside of the Super Pepper, where he and Kaito had first met. He nervously wrung his hands while reminiscing about the simple, innocent first meeting. He remembered how he'd thought that Kaito was an eccentric fool...and he'd been right. But now he knew so much more about the thoughtful, profound magician.

"Shinichi-kun!" Kaito called, galloping toward Shinichi. Profound, indeed. When Kaito came closer wielding a goofy smile and a white rose, Shinichi's heart rapidly pounded against his chest. His stomach twisted in anxiety, and his face was tinted red. "Hey, are you alright Shinichi?" he poked Shinichi's hot cheek.

"Yes, I'm fine! Let's eat. Yeah." Shinichi led the way into the root beer-scented restaurant, mentally preparing himself for the confession.

* * *

**End A/n:**

**Cliffffffffffy! You know you love it ;) Please review! I need you :o To continue on, must...get...reviews. Ha, no, I'm not that dramatic. Thanks for reading!**

**While writing this, at one point I tried to write Shinichi...and it turned out as "**Shininichhi"** O.o What? Hahahah.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**From here to the end, it should be pretty exciting. Maybe? Hehe...this is where things start actually happening involving their relationship. And stuff. I'm excited just thinking about it!**

**You guys do remember their first meeting, right? Their "blind date", if you will. If you don't, then maybe you should go back to chapter 2 and skim through, yeah? There are a few references in this chapter to that, so yah. Nothing big though.**

* * *

"You're distracted tonight, aren't you Shinichi-kun?" Kaito asked, giggling while sipping his cream soda. "Usually you're intently listening and talking to me. Are you still a little bit sick? You did look sort of red at first...Ah! Could it be that my soup wasn't as amazing as usual and so it didn't help as much as it should have?!" He hurriedly slapped his hand onto Shinichi's forehead, gauging the temperature.

"I'm fine!" Shinichi insisted, pushing Kaito's hand away. Watching the waiter make his way to their table, plate in hand, Shinichi said, "Should it be legal for you to have soda _and_ chocolate cake? I mean, you're already bouncing in your seat..."

"No I'm not!" Kaito argued with a smirk, bouncing up and down.

Shinichi smiled fondly. "Okay, Kaito-kun. Whatever you say."

The familiar piece of triple chocolate cream fudge cake with double chocolate frosting and chocolate shavings on top was placed onto the table and Kaito instantly had a fork in his hand. While he dug into the sickeningly delicious cake, Shinichi thanked the waiter. Afterward, he watched Kaito's greedy consumption for a moment, then helped himself to some of it as well, remembering how amazing it tasted.

"Dis id so gud!" Kaito mumbled through his food, reveling in the masterpiece of cake.

Shinichi agreed with a silent nod, because he wasn't quite as unrefined as Kaito. When they had finished with their meal, they decided to retire to Shinichi's home, as they had on their first outing together. Shinichi, tense as can be, concentrated on breathing normally while Kaito walked ahead and babbled about something or another. He felt like hyperventilating at this point. _I can't do this! _he shouted at himself in his head. _It's not going to go well...I'm not brave enough to handle this._ Then he realized something and smacked himself in the face. Literally this time. _If I'm brave enough to chase down and catch criminals, as well as solve cases on a daily basis, how can _this _be an issue for me?!_

"Shinichi-kun?" Kaito asked, popping Shinichi out of his thoughts. "Did you just facepalm?"

"Oh..." Shinichi said, looking at his hand. "Uh...I guess I did. Heh..."

Kaito stared at him for a few moments, then laughed jovially. "Hahaha, you're so weird! And you don't even know it! That's what I love about you!"

Shinichi whipped his head to look up at him. _Love?_ He felt—and why did this have to happen so often lately?—his face spreading with crimson. He covered his cheeks with his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. _Stop it! Stop it, foolish self! Don't show him how flattered you are!_

"Huh? What are you doing now? You look like a crushing schoolgirl."

Shinichi opened his eyes. _Act normal! _he ordered himself. He glanced at their surroundings, noticing that they were almost to Shinichi's home. Shinichi began to walk quicker, causing Kaito to struggle to keep up with his brisk pace. Once they finally made it to the Big House of Potential Rejection, Shinichi sighed nervously, glancing for the umpteenth time at Kaito. "Kaito-kun, go ahead and sit on the couch in the living room," he said after taking his shoes off. "I'll be there in just a minute."

Leaving a bewildered Kaito behind, Shinichi raced to the bathroom. Halfway to a panic attack, and with his stomach twisting into incredible knots, he splashed his face with some cold water. He willed his face to unredden. It was times like these that he almost wished he could wear make-up...okay, to be honest, he'd never thought that before. He took a deep breath and bravely marched his way back to his doom.

Kaito was sitting on the couch, his feet propped on the coffee table in front of him. When Shinichi came back, Kaito smiled and patted the spot next to him. Shinichi, nervous with every step, took the seat. _It's no big deal,_ he tried to convince himself. _The worst thing that could happen is that he'll reject me. We can still be friends, right? Right. Right! ...Right? _He put on his determined face and faced Kaito.

"Kaito-kun, before you decide to watch whatever movie you happen to have chosen tonight, I want to talk about something." Kaito blinked expectantly, and Shinichi continued. "I'm a detective...but there are a few things I'm never able to figure out. Something's been on my mind lately, and as a detective I am ashamed to say that I don't know what the solution is. And I—hey, you look anxious. Are you okay?"

Kaito nodded, immediately adjusting his face to look normal. "Hey, it's nothing serious. I mean, it's not like I think you're a criminal or anything. Ha ha! I just have something to say...well, I'm trying to explain it, but as I said, I'm no good at this and I want you to understand as well as possible. Oh, whatever. I'm making us both more nervous so I'll say it before either of us explodes. To be plain and simple, I like you."

Kaito was silent.

Shinichi, feeling the need to fill in the awkwardness, began rambling again. "I-I mean, as in, I think I have a crush on you. I've never thought I was gay or anything—n-not that I'm homophobic!—but then there was you, and I felt...I _feel..._I don't know. I didn't notice for a long time, and then it just sort of hit me and I can't just keep it in. I mean, you deserve to know, don't you? Even if you don't feel the same way, and I don't expect you to, and even if you feel awkward which you clearly do, but I didn't think it'd be this bad, I mean you're not even saying anything. God, what have I done? I'm so—"

"Hey." Shinichi's babbles were finally brought to a close by the quiet interruption of Kaito. "Who said I didn't feel the same way?"

"You..." Shinichi paused. "Do you? You don't seem to. It seems to me that you're quiet, feeling awkward and maybe angry."

"Quiet..." Kaito mused. Having been avoiding Shinichi's eyes, he finally looked into them. "How could I talk normally when I feel as if I'm going to burst into tears?"

"T-tears...?" Shinichi asked. "Oh, Kaito-kun. I'm really sorry! I didn't know it would be so offensive or anything...I just wanted you to know."

"Offensive?" Kaito moved slightly, leaning in and pouncing on Shinichi. Squashing him into a tremendous hug, he said, "Are you kidding?! Shinichi-kun, I've been waiting for this for such a long time! I like you so much! You're hilarious and smart and cute! I never expected you to even think about liking me back!"

Shinichi quickly pushed Kaito back in surprise with his eyebrows raised incredulously. "You do?! Seriously?!" His face lit up like a child's on his birthday. Kaito nodded vehemently. Shinichi, having no clue how to do anything of this nature, grabbed Kaito and pulled him in for a kiss. It didn't last very long and it wasn't extremely passionate, but it was a marvelous, sweet kiss filled with emotion.

"Was that okay?" Shinichi breathed afterward.

"_Okay?_" Kaito repeated. "I'm so happy right now, anything would be okay! I loved that! I'm just ecstatic that you decided to have a crush on me."

"So, er..." Shinichi started awkwardly, still embracing Kaito on the couch. "Would we call this a relationship or no? Are you considered my boyfriend now?"

"Only if you want me."

"Definitely."

* * *

**His confession sucked so much. So much. I'm a little shabby I think, as I haven't actually written in a while. Anyway, like I said, it was terrible. I'm sorry. I just hope you can imagine the feelings...you know? I try to express that :P**

**So all is well for the happy couple ;) For now!**

**Keep reading, see the drama, maybe even a happy ending? Review! Thankies!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**So yeah, I went on a short vacation last week and I was completely planning on updating before I left but I got distracted (I lost my license and various other irritations...) and I forgot aaah! Sorry! Haha. Here 'tis!**

* * *

"Shin-chan!"

"Hello, mother," Shinichi sighed. He gave Kaito an apologetic look, but Kaito just smiled. On the phone, Shinichi's mother was babbling about some big production she was in. Shinichi's mind switched to autopilot, not really listening but inputting a word here or there when needed. He clasped Kaito's hand. Then something his mother said alerted him.

"What? What did you just say?"

"Your father is mad at me. He decided to take a trip to visit you."

"Oh, great," Shinichi groaned. At least his mother wasn't coming as well; he decided not to question as to why he was angry with her. "So when should he be here?"

"Uh...well, that's..." Yukiko sounded a little bit nervous at this point. "See, he apparently left this afternoon while I was at rehearsal, and he left me a note. Because of the time difference, that was this morning for you, Shin-chan. He could be there at any time now; he's probably already off the plane and on his way to our house."

"Oh. Great. And did you _just _get home from your rehearsal?" Shinichi asked, his eyes narrowing. It would be just like his mother to procrastinate on telling him, but he needed to get home quickly to ensure he could see his father and tidy the house.

"W-well, yes," Yukiko stuttered. "This is why I was nervous about telling you! Don't you go blaming me for this, now. Don't be angry, okay? Go bond with your father."

"Did you ever think that I actually have things to do?" Shinichi asked, his hand twitching in Kaito's grip.

"Are these things more important than your father?"

"I—no...sorry. That was irrational of me. Goodbye mother." Shinichi hung up and sighed. Turning to Kaito, who had been fairly patient this whole time, he forced a smile.

"Shinichi-kun, don't pretend you're happy. You need to work a bit more on your poker face," Kaito said with a smirk. "What's wrong?"

Shinichi let his facade fall. "My father's coming to visit today."

"Oh..." Kaito looked away for a moment. "That's fine. I've never met your father, but I absolutely loved your mother!"

"Uh, okay. But just to warn you, maybe you shouldn't tell him that we're dating, okay?"

Shinichi felt extremely uneasy with the impending presence of his father. He wasn't quite sure if his father was homophobic, but he surely didn't run around screaming "I love gays." Shinichi ran through in his head any situations where he might've given his opinion. He couldn't think of any. All he knew was that his father wasn't likely to think incredibly highly of a homosexual relationship, especially not when it involved his own son.

Kaito's face looked a bit hurt for a moment, but it quickly passed and he said, "Sure. I'll be on my best behaviour! I guess we should go back to your house soon, right?"

Shinichi nodded in agreement and they walked hand-in-hand back to the Kudo mansion. Shinichi felt strained, wondering if his father would guess that they were dating. He liked his father, but sometimes it was too much to have to stop and suddenly accompany him during a visit.

Reaching the house, the two found that they were still alone: Yusaku hadn't arrived yet. As Kaito stretched and bounced down onto the couch, Shinichi quickly tidied up a few messes left (mostly by Kaito). He washed a dish, threw away some trash, and organized the misplaced books in the library. Still, Yusaku hadn't appeared, so Shinichi decided to crash on the couch next to his high-spirited boyfriend.

"Shinichi-kun, is your father a neat-freak?" Kaito asked with a chuckle when Shinichi sat down.

Shinichi quirked an eyebrow and replied, "No, but it's always nice to make sure things are clean when you have visitors. And I probably would have had to clean your trash up soon anyway; it's not like you would do it." He let out an amiable laugh at Kaito's fake-pouting face.

"Don't pout, Kaito-kun!" Shinichi teased. He gave Kaito a quick peck on the cheek, brightening Kaito's visage immediately.

Of course, the moment he took part in suggestive activities, his father would walk in.

"Shinichi..." Yusaku greeted hesitantly as Shinichi turned around to see the man clutching a small suitcase. Eyebrows raised slightly, he slid his gaze to Kaito and nodded in acknowledgement.

Kaito, true to form, hopped giddily over to Yusaku. He held out his hand to shake, and Yusaku accepted it. They shook hands for a moment while Kaito introduced himself. "Hello, sir. You're Shinichi-kun's father, right? You look just like him! The resemblance is uncanny, really. I'm Kuroba Kaito. Pleased to meet you!"

Yusaku blinked in what seemed to be surprise when he was told the name of this strange boy who had just received a kiss from Shinichi. Did he recognize the name? If he did, he didn't say anything about it. He introduced himself as well, followed by asking, "May I please have a moment alone with my son?"

Kaito nodded politely. "Of course, sir. I'll just go sit in the library and read a book or something."

Once he was out of sight, Yusaku stared at Shinichi. For a long while, he was silent. Then he simply asked, "You're gay?"

Shinichi's heart sank. _I knew it, _he thought. _He's unhappy with that._ "I—" he started. He swallowed, then began again. "I'm not gay, per se. I like this guy a lot..." he trailed off, but felt nervous enough to continue his own defense. "I like who I like, whether it's a guy or a girl. I don't want to put these labels on my sexuality. I just want to lo—_like_ who I like." _Did I almost say love?_

Thankfully, Yusaku didn't seem to catch that last slip of the tongue. He looked out the window almost wistfully. He sighed a few times, then said, "Well, son...I'm not exactly thrilled about this, but you can do what you want and I won't bother you about it. Just remember to make the right choice in the end."

"I get it, Dad."

"Good. Now that's settled, I suppose I should tell you. Although you've already guessed, I'm staying here for a few days."

"You're getting her a present, aren't you?" Shinichi asked, smirking.

"How'd you know that?" Yusaku asked.

"Mom called and told me that you were mad at her. However...it's close to your anniversary and you only brought one suitcase. That suitcase can hold just a few changes of clothes. That means you're not staying long, and you didn't bring anything extra just in case. You have something in mind, don't you?"

Yusaku chuckled. "That's my boy. Yes, I'm planning an extravagant gift for her, and I can't have her overhearing my plans."

"Ah. Okay. Well then, I'm going to go get Kaito-kun and take him to—"

Shinichi's father sighed, interrupting his son. "You don't have to leave the house, you know. Maybe you don't have to, er, make out and all that, but you can stay here. I won't bother you."

Shinichi looked at his feet. He didn't want to be with both his excitable boyfriend and his busy father. "No, I think we'll just go. Um, we were gonna go out anyway." His father shrugged, picked up his suitcase, and made his way out of the living room. He stopped on his way out and said, "Just...be careful with him. Don't be shocked if he's not what you think he is." Shinichi blinked in confusion. What did he mean? Figuring it was just something meant to deter him from his relationship, Shinichi followed him out of the room, then veered off to the library. He opened the door a crack and found Kaito crouching in a chair. He wasn't reading. He wasn't doing anything. He looked...nauseous. Was he worried about their relationship?

Shinichi opened the door wider, strolling in as if he hadn't witnessed the almost scared look in Kaito's eyes. Kaito looked up, the expression on his face suddenly transforming into a pleasant visage. "Oh, Shinichi-kun, there you are! Hello! I was thinking about taking a little nap here in this chair...I guess now that you're back, I don't need to...Unless you want me to leave so you can spend time with your father."

Shinichi looked at Kaito. What a liar. _How often does he lie so easily to me? _He thought dejectedly. Of course, he must have his reasons. So Shinichi, instead of interrogating him, stepped over to him and enveloped him in a tight, warm, comforting hug.

Kaito reciprocated the hug automatically, but whispered a confused noise into Shinichi's ear. Shinichi rubbed Kaito's back comfortingly. "Let's go," he suggested. Kaito nodded and followed Shinichi out of the house. They walked down the street hand in hand, having earlier planned to spend time in the city and perhaps watch a movie. Dusk was falling upon them, and they discussed where they would go since it had gotten so late. In the end, they merely sat in a nearby park, not doing much but basking in each other's company. However, Shinichi knew that Kaito was patiently waiting for at least a little bit of what his father thought. He thought again of the last warning his father had given. He quickly pushed it away, convincing himself that his father meant to do just what he had: confuse him.

"My father...he's okay with us," Shinichi started, startling Kaito from their previous silence. Kaito's eyes now bored into him. "Not exactly comfortable," Shinichi added, "but okay."

"I..." Shinichi waited for Kaito to finally reveal his true feelings, to remove his mask. "I'M SO HAPPY!" He squeezed Shinichi's hand.

"W-what?" Shinichi stuttered. "Shouldn't you be..." He stopped. Maybe Kaito was deeper than he'd imagined; maybe he wasn't as relaxed with Shinichi as the detective had previously thought. Maybe he just needed time...and Shinichi vowed to give him that time that he needed.

"What were you saying, Shinichi-kun?" Kaito asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just...nothing." Shinichi shook his head. "Hey, you can just call me 'Shinichi' if you want." There wasn't much he could do at this point, but he could at least ease Kaito's unhappiness. He knew that, to the overly emotional magician, allowing such familiarity would please him.

Kaito was silent. Shinichi noticed that the world around them was darkening fast. He looked at Kaito, wondering why he'd been so quiet. "Me too," he murmured. "You can call me just 'Kaito', Shinichi."

Shinichi sprang off the bench they had been sitting on. He looked down at Kaito incredulously. "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" he demanded.

Kaito, eyes wide, stuttered, "I—I don't know...I said you could call me by my name if you want! What did I do?!"

Shinichi opened and closed his mouth a few times without saying anything. Then he finally got his voice back. "You're such a freak, Kaito! You...you say these things...and I don't know how you do it, but the things you say always make me blush, and...and...sometimes they make me feel so weird inside. I mean, this time you said some weird thing that made my heart race and...What are you doing to me?"

They stared at one another for a moment. Kaito blinked, and his bewildered expression gradually became amused. His lips upturned into a smile. Then, simultaneously, the two burst out laughing.

"Shinichi, you're the weird one!" Kaito choked out amongst a fit of giggles. "You're so incredibly cute!"

They laughed for a moment more before Shinichi pulled Kaito to a stand beside him. They embraced, breathing each other in, then kissed sweetly. "Kaito, let's go home, okay?" Kaito nodded.

The two had only been dating for a week now. This had been their first official date; it was supposed to consist of merely spending time together and then sleeping at Shinichi's house—not much different than they had been doing—but instead it'd turned out this way. Now they walked together back to the Kudo residence. Their week-long romance combined with their already strong bond of friendship was sure to be fun.

* * *

**I don't actually feel like Shinichi's dad would react badly...I don't think he would have too much much of a negative opinion, haha. I didn't have anything specific in mind for this chapter. Just a bit of filler and whatnot? Oh yeah and I re-wrote like half of this one cause I didn't like the way I had done it, haha.**

**And also...the fact that Kaito had planned to spend the night was not, in any way, I promise, supposed to turn out dirty. Even without Shinichi's dad. Bahh! I feel like someone's gonna perceive that wrong /**

**I don't want them to move fast at all. They're supposed to be cautiously proceeding at this point...It's something pretty new to both of them. So it's not like they're having steamy sex anytime soon ^_^**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12!**

**HEY! I just want to make sure everyone has read chapter 11. has been really messing up with email alerts and whatnot, and usually it tells me when things are updated but it hasn't been a lot recently :/ So just check to make sure you read it!**

**Uh, this chapter is stupid? Like I thought of it and wrote it a long time ago...but it's okay :) It'll all end up fine!**

**Another thing: I'm pathetic. I tried looking through the story to make sure, but I'm pretty sure I've got the season right. Near the beginning it was spring...I don't remember, but I hope I haven't contradicted that. Sorry! So now time has passed, of course, and viola!**

* * *

"Hey, Shinichi!" Kaito called. "Isn't it stupid that we have homework during the break?"

Shinichi tensed, turning around in surprise. He had been walking alone down the street when the magician had called out to him. A few people looked curiously at the loud boy. "Kaito? You didn't tell me you were visiting today." He stopped to let Kaito catch up with him. "And why are you always smiling, you silly, loud...attractive...person...?"

Kaito's smile didn't cease, and it dug deeper into Shinichi's soul until his heart was throbbing like a schoolgirl's. "Thank you for the wonderful compliments, Shinichi! I decided to surprise you with my visit today. Since it's summer break I don't have anything to do and neither do you, of course."

..._Of course?_ Shinichi repeated in his head. _What if I had been busy today?_

"Ah! That's right, Shinichi! My birthday is soon! Will you get me a present?"

Shinichi chuckled. His boldness and lack of humbleness could be annoying, but he found himself becoming very affectionate towards the magician's bright and straightforward actions. "What would you like, Kaito?"

"Hmm...how about a romantic dinner for two?" Kaito asked with a wink. Shinichi thought of the implications and immediately blushed. "Oh, I knew that would make you blush! You're so cute!"

"Ah, shut up, Kaito..." Shinichi muttered. It wasn't _his _fault that he was romantically incompetent. "Is that all you want?"

Kaito hummed in thought for a few moments. "Yup! Just spending time with you is enough!"

"Ah. That's right...how did you know where to find me?" Shinichi wouldn't put it past Kaito to put a tracking device on his boyfriend.

"Lucky guess," Kaito offered with a shrug.

"Really?" Shinichi asked doubtfully.

"Yep! I actually used your amazing detective skills! I hope you'll forgive me for borrowing them for a while. I thought 'What Would Shinichi Do?'. And then you told me inside my head, 'He would go to his favorite bookstore, duh!' which I knew was in this area so I came looking. And then I thanked you, but I'm not sure if you got my telepathic message."

Shinichi blinked. Even though he was somewhat used to Kaito's eccentricity, it was sometimes surprising what he came up with. Shinichi, of course, would play along. "Oh, is that what you were thanking me for? Sure I heard you! You were a little loud, too."

"Heh, I'm sorry. Well, thanks to you, I found you! Isn't that wonderful?!" Kaito's eyes lit up and his smile brightened even further.

Shinichi smiled back fondly. "Yeah, it sure is. Completely wonderful." He grabbed Kaito's hand, squeezed it, and let it go; public displays of affection weren't really his forte, but he wasn't completely opposed to occasional physical contact.

"So you're coming to the bookstore with me?" Shinichi inquired with a raised eyebrow. Kaito nodded. "_You?"_ Shinichi clarified.

"What's wrong with that?" Kaito teasingly asked with a smirk, silently willing Shinichi to make a rude comment.

"Er...you're just so bouncy and all. I don't know if they'll appreciate you running around screaming."

"You act like I'm a little kid!" _Well, you sure act like one. _"I can totally be quiet and reserved and act all smart and look at books, just like you can!"

"M-hm," Shinichi agreed, completely unconvinced. "Let's go then, baby."

"Aw, you called me a pet name!" Kaito flirted, winking.

"Yep. Because I definitely wasn't referring to the fact that you act like an infant..." Shinichi mumbled.

"What was that?" Kaito challenged.

"Nothing, baby!" Shinichi insisted.

"Well Shinichi..." Kaito sighed. "I guess this is where we say adieu!"

"Yep..." Shinichi agreed. After going to Shinichi's choice bookstore, they had gone out for ice cream and had taken a long walk back to where they would part ways. Shinichi held a bag full of books while Kaito possessed only two books. Shinichi had been surprised that Kaito had even picked one mystery book (although the other looked suspiciously like a romance novel).

Now the sun was setting and Kaito had to get to the train station in time to catch the last train back to Ekoda. Shinichi, always awkward when it came to physical contact, stiffly offered Kaito a good-bye hug. Kaito accepted, relishing Shinichi's scent and the feel of his body. "See you later," Shinichi whispered.

Kaito, after a long moment, withdrew from the hug and grinned. "I would say aloha, but then I'd never leave."

Shinichi smiled as well. _Even though I was with him all day, now I feel pretty sad to part with him, _he thought. _Is this what liking someone always feels like?_

Kaito said his final good-bye to Shinichi, and whipped out a rose like usual. It was red, and Shinichi didn't move to accept the offering. Kaito frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Shinichi said brusquely, practically yanking the rose out of Kaito's hand. He turned away, facing the road home. "Bye."

Kaito concernedly watched the seemingly angry Shinichi's receding figure for a moment. Then he remembered that he had a train to catch, and jogged to the station with Shinichi in his mind all the way.

Once Shinichi was home, he went straight to his bedroom. Instead of preserving the rose in a vase as he usually did, he tossed it onto his desk. He then stretched for a moment and changed his clothes quickly and methodically, finally collapsing onto his bed. From his position, he could just see the outline of the rose due to the slight moonlight filtering through his window. The moon would reach a higher point soon, where the rose would be in full view. So Shinichi rolled over, facing the other wall, and closed his eyes.

* * *

**Dadadaaaaaaaaaaah! So...this definitely sounded way better a few years ago xD But too late, since I already set up the whole story. It's pretty much the cheesiest thing ever...and if it's not obvious what the problem is with Shinichi, score one for me! But if it is, I'm not exactly surprised.**

**Aaaaaah. So anyway, review! La next chapter is a bit short, so...sorry about that. But the chapter after that will be good and pretty much then to the end should excite your little KaiShin brains! So if we get some good bunches of reviews and stuff I'll try to update by maybe Wednesday or Thursday this time? Yeah! Okay, bye bye!**


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